



CEN. S. COOPER. 



-r the Thi:-, 



SOUTHEKN HISTORY OF THE WAR. 



THE 



THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



BY 

EDWARD A. POLLAED, 

AUTHOR OF "FIRST AND SECOND YEARS OF THE "WAR.' 



-^ p 7 7 v: 



/ 



NEW YORK: ' 
CHARLES B. RICHARDSON, 

441 BEOADWAY. 
1866. 






Entered according to Act of Consress, in the year 1S64 

By CHARLES B. RICHARDSON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 

Southern District of New York. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The author has composed this work under many and severe 
difficulties. The materials were collected in Richmond, while 
the author was burdened with the heavy duties of public 
journalism. 

After this explanation, and in the third volume of his work, 
it is, perhaps, unnecessary for the author to repeat that he has 
not sought literary ornament, or attempted a high standard 
of historical composition. He has only designed to make a 
faithful compendium of events, which will illustrate, for the 
present, what is most interesting in the American War, and 
serve as a foundation for future and more enlarged inquiries. 
It may be that these, his unambitious labors, will be appro- 
priated by others, who will rear upon them a superstructure 
of their own ; but he cherishes the hope that he is not 
destined to lose to others the benefit of his early records, and 
that he may, at some future time, be able to compose a work 
on the American War, worthy of its importance, and its 
relations to the interests and philosophy of the present 
generation. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Review of the Battle of Chaucellorsville.-Two Defects in the Victory of the Con- 
federates.-" The Finest Army on the Planet."-Analysis of the Victory.-General- 
ship of Lee.-Services and Character of the great Confederate Leader.-His Com- 
monphaces and his Virtues.-The Situation in Virginia.-Lee's Preparations for tlie 
Summer Carapaign.-Hooker to be Maneuvered out of Virginia-Reorganization ot 
Lee's Army.-Tlie Attair of Brandy Station.-TaE Capture of ^\ inchester.-TIic 
Affair of Aldie's Station.-Lee's Army Crossing the Potomac -Invasion of Pennsyl- 
Tania.-Alarm in the North.-Hooker Out-Generalled and Removed.-The Mild 
Warfare of the Confederate Invaders.-Southern "Chivalry."-General Lee s Error. 
-His Splendid March from Culpepper Court House to Gettysburg.-Feverish Anti- 
cipations in Richmond.-THE Battle of GETTTSBUuo.-First Day's Engagement.- 
A Regiment of Corpses.-Charge of Gordon's Brigade.-The Nine Mississippi 
Heroes.-The Yankees Driven through Gettysburg.-A Fatal Mistake of the Con- 
federates. -General Lee's Embarrassments.-THE Second Day. -Cemetery HiU.- 
Early's Attack Almost a Success.-Adventure of Wright's Bngade.-TnE rniRU 
DAT.-Sublime Terrors of the ArtiUery.-Heroic and Ever-Memorable Charge ot 
Pickett's Division on the Heights.-Half a Mile of Shot and Sliell.-Pickett s Sup- 
ports Fail.-The Recoil.-Generai Lee's Behavior.-His Greatness m Disaster -Im- 
mense Carnage.-Death of General Barksdale, " the Haughty Rebel."-General Lee s 
Retreat.-The Affair of Williamsport.-Lee Recrosses the Potomac-Success ot his 
Retreat.-Yankee Misrepresentation. -Review of the Pennsylvania Campaign.-Halt 
of Lee's Plans Disconcerted at Richmond.-Results of the Battle of Gettysburg Ne- 
gative.-Lee's Retreat Across the Potomac an Inconsequence-Disappointment in 
Kiclimond.-The Budget of a Single Day in the Confederate Capital Page 1- 



CHAPTER H. 

Vicksburg, "the Heroic City."-Its Value to the Confederacy.-An Opportunity 
Lost by Butler. -Lieutenant-general Pemberton.-A Favorite of President Da- 
vis—The President's Obstinacy.— Blindness of Pemberton to the Enemy s De- 
Bi.^n*.-His Telegram to Johnston.-Plan of U. S. Grant.-Its Daring.-TnE Battle 
OF Port GiBsoN.-Exposure of General Bowen by Pemberton.-The First Mistake.- 
Pemberton's Disregard of Johnston's Orders.-Grant's advance against Jackson — 
Johnston's Evacuation of Jackson.-His Appreciation of the Situation.-Urgent Or- 
ders to Pemberton.-A Brilliant Opportunity.— Pemberton's Contumacy and btnpul- 
ity.-His Irretrievable Error. -Yankee Outrages in Jackson.-THE Battle of Baker s 
Creek, &c.-Stevenson's Heroic Fight.-Alleged Dereliction of General Loring.- 
His Division Cat Off in the Retreat.-Demoralizatiou of Pemberton's Troops.-T.ie 
Enemy's Assault on the Big Black.-Shameful Behavior of the Confederates.-A 



6 CONTKNTS. 

Georgia Hero. — Pcmberton and the Fnofitives. — Ilis Return to Vicksburg. — Eecrim- 
inations as to the Disaster of the Big Bhick. — How Pemberton Was in the Wrong. — 
Johnston Orders the Evacuation of Vicksburg. — Peniberton's Determination to 
Hold It I'age 41 



CHAPTER III. 

The Defences of Vicksburg.— Pemberton's Force.— His Troops Reinspirited.— A 
Memorable Appeal.— Grant's Assault on the Works. — Confidence of the Yankees. — 
Their Repulse and Losses. — Commencement of Siege Operations. — Confidence in 
Richmond.— Johnston's Secret Anticipation of the Fall of Vicksburg. — His Alleged 
Inability to Avert it.— Critical Condition of the Confederate Armies in Numbers. — 
Secret Correspondence of Richmond Officials.— Mr. Seddon's Bait of Flattery.— Suf- 
ferings of the Garrison of Vicksburg. — Johnston's Attempt to E.xtricate them. — Pro- 
posed Diversion in the Trans-Mississippi. — Its Failure. — A Message from Pemberton. 
A Gleam of Hope.— An Important Despatch Miscarries.— The Garrison Unable to 
Fight Their Way Out.- But Their Condition not Extreme.— Pemberton's Surrender 
on the Fourth of July.— Surprise in Richmond— Mendacity of the Telegraph.— The 
Story of the Rats and Mules.— Pemberton's Statement as to his Supplies. — His Ex- 
planation as to the Day of Surrender.— The last Incident of Humiliation.— Behavior 
of the Vicksburg Population.— A Rival of "The Beast."— Appearance and Manners 
of the City under Yankee Rule.— Consequences of the Fall of Vicksburg.— The Yan- 
kee Reoccupation of Jackson.— Johnston's Second Evacuation. — The Enemy's Rav- 
ages in Mississippi.— How they Compared with Lee's Civilities in Pennsylvania. — 
The Fall of Port Hudson, &c. — Enemy's Capture of Yazoo City. — The Battle 
OK Helena.— The Trans-Mississippi. — Repulse of the Confederates.— Abandonment 
of Little Rock.— Tlie Trials and Sufferings of the Trans-Mississippi Department.— 
Hindman's Memorable Rule.— Military Autocracy.— The Generous and Heroic Spirit 
of the Trans-Mississippi Page 59 



CHAPTER lY. 

Elasticity of the Spirit of the Confederacy.— What it Taught.— Decay of Confi- 
dence in President Davis's Administration.— His Affection for Pemberton.— A Season 
of Eneouraffing Events. — The Campaign in Lower Louisiana.— Capture of Brashear 
City.— The Affair of Donaldson.- The Siege of Charleston.— Operations of the 
Enemy on Folly Island.— General Beauregard's Embarrassments.— Assault of the 
-Enemy of Fort Wagner.— His Foothold on Morris Island.— Beauregard's Designs.— 
Bombardment of Fort Wagner.— Second Repulse of the Enemy's Assault.— Gilmore'a 
Insolent Denuind.— His Attempt to Fire Charleston.— A Noble Reply from Beaure- 
gard.— Bombardment of Fort Sumler.— The Fort in Ruins.— Evacuation of Morris 
Island by the Confederates.— The Yankee Congratulations.- Devilish Penalti^^ for 
" the SecessiGn City."— Dahlgren's Part of the Programme.— His Night Attack on 
Sumter.— His Failure.- Safety of Charleston.— Bitterness of Yankee Disappointment. 
—Morgan's Expedition into Indiana and Ohio. — His Capture of Lebanon. — An ^ 
Unnatural Encounter.— Murder of Captain Magennis.— The Incursion Through Indi- 
ana.— The Yankee Pursuit.— A Chaplain's Trick.— Operations in Ohio.— The Affair 
of BuflBngton Island.— Morgan's Attempt to Escape.— His Capture and Imprison- 
ment.— Results of his Expedition, Strategic and Material.— The Value of Military 
Adventure Page 81 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER Y. 

Contrast between our Military Fortunes in the East and in the West. — Some 
Reasons for our Success iu Virginia. — Her Hearty Co-operation with the Confederate 
Autliorities. — Her Contributions to the War. — General Bragg's Situation in Tennes- 
see. — Confederate criticisms on General Kosecrans. — Opinion of the " Chattanooga 
Rebel." — An Extensive Movement Contemplated by Eosecrans. — Bragg's Eetreat to 
Chattanooga. — The Yankees on a Double Line of Operations. — Buckner's Evacuation 
of Knoxvilie. The Sukrendek of Cumberland Gap. — President Davis's Comment 
on the Surrender. — The Battles of Chi-ckamauga. — Braggs' Evacuation of Chatta- 
nooga. — Topography of the Battle.-.field. — Thomas's Column of Yankees in McLemore's 
Cove. — Disobedience of Orders by Lieutenant-general Hi^l of the Confederates. — 
Bragg's Orders to Lieutenant-general Polk. — Two Opportunities Lost. Note: 
Bragg's Secret and Official Eeport of the Miscarriage of His Plans. — The First Day's 
Engagement on the Chickamauga. — Second Day. — General Polk's Fight on our 
Eight. — Longstreet's Successful Attack on the Left. — The Grand Charge. — Eout of 
the Enemy. — Longstreet's Message to Bragg. — Forrest Up a Tree. — Bragg Declines to 
Pursue. — His Hesitation and Error. — His Movement upon Chattanooga. — Boast of 
Eosecrans. — An Empty Victory for the Confederates. — Bragg's Awkward Pause. — 
Discussions of the Campaign. — His Supposed Investment of Chattanooga. — Two 
Blunders of the Confederate Commander. — Chickamauga a Second Edition of Bull 
Eun. Note ; Observations of a General Officer of the Confederate States Army on 
the Campaign in the West Page 106 



CHAPTER 71. 

Political Movements in the Fall of 1863.— The "Peace Party" in the North.— The 
Yankee Fall Elections. — The War Democrats in the North.— The South's Worst 
Enemies. — Yankee Self-Glorification. — Farragut's Dinner-Party. — The Eussian Ban- 
quet. — Eussia and Y'ankeedom. — The Poles and the Confederates. — The Political 
Troubles in Kentucky. — Bramlette and Wickclift'e. — The Democratic Platform in 
Kentucky. — Political Ambidexterity. — Burnside's Despotic Orders. — The Kentucky 
" Board of Trade." — An Election by Bayonets. — The Fate of Kentucky Sealed. — Our 
European Eelations. — Dismissal of the Foreign Consuls in the Confederacy. — 
Seizure of the Confederate " Earns" in England. — The Confederate Privateers. — 
Their Achievements. — British Interests in Privateering. — The Profits of So-called 
"Neutrality." — Naval Affairs of the Confederacy. — Embarrassments of Our 
Naval Enterprise. — The Naval Structures of the Confederates. — Lee's Flank Move- 
ment in Virginia. — Affair of Bristoe Station.— Failure of Lee's Plans. — Meade's 
Escape to Centreville. — linboden's Operations in the Valley. — Capture of Charlestown. 
— Operations at Eappahannock Bridge.— Kelley's Ford. — Surprise and Capture of 
Hayes' and Hoke's Brigades. — Gallantry of Colonel Godwin. — Lee's Army on the 
Eapidan. — The Affair of Germania Ford. — Meade Foiled. — The " On-to-Eich- 
mond" Delayed Page 134 



CHAPTER YH. 

The Chattanooga Lines.— Grant's Command. — The Military Division of the Missis- 
sippi. — Scarcity of Supplies in Chattanooga. — Wheeler's Eaid. — Grant's Plans. — He 
Opens the Communications of Chattanooga. — The Affair of Lookout Valley. — 
Eelief of Chattanooga. — The Battlk of Missionary Ridge. — Bragg's Unfortunate 



8 



CONTENTS. 



Detachment of Longstreet's Force. — His Evacuation of Lookout Mountain. — The 
Attack on Missionary Ridge. — Hardee's Gallant Resistance. — Eout and Panic of the 
Confederates. — President Davis's First Reproof of the Confederate Troops. — Bragg's 
Eetreat to Dalton. — Cleburne's Gallant Affair. — Longstreet's Expedition Against 
Knoxville. — More of Bragg's Mismanagement. — Insufficiency of Longstreet's Force. 
— Difficulty in Obtaining Supplies. — His Investment of Knoxville. — An Incident of 
Personal Gallantry. — Daring of an English Volunteer.^Longstreet's Plans Discon- 
certed. — The Assault on Fort Sanders. — Devotion of Longstreet's Veterans.— The 
Yankee " Wire-net." — The Fatal Ditch. — Longstreet's Masterly Eetreat. — His Posi- 
tion in Northeastern Tennessee. — He Winters his Army there. — The Affair of 
Sabine Pass, Texas. — The Trans-Mississippi. — Franklin's E.xpeditiou Defeated. — 
The Upper Portions of the Trans-Mississippi. — The Missouri " Guerillas." — Quan- 
trell. — Romantic Incidents. — The Virginia- Tennessee Frontier. — Operations of 
General Sam Jones. — Au Engagement near Warm Springs. — The Affair of Eogers- 
ville. — Battle of Droop Mountain. — The Enemy Baffled. — Averill's Great Decem- 
ber Eaid. — The Pursuit. — The North Carolina Swamps. — The Negro Banditti in the 
Swamps. — Wild, Butler's "Jackal." — His Murder of Daniel Bright. — Confederate 
Women in Irons. — Cowardice and Ferocity of the Yiinkees Page 153 



CHAPTER YIII. 

The President's Declaration to the Confederate Congress of 1863-64.—" Want of 
Capacity" in the Confederate Authorities. — Character of Jefferson Davis. — Official 
Shiftlessness at Richmond. — Early Prognostications of the War. — The " Statesman- 
ship" of the Confederates. — Ludicrous Errors of Confederate Leaders. — What " King 
Cotton" might have done. — ^^Gross Mismanagement of the Confederate Finances. — Mr. 
Memminger's Maladministration. — The Moral Evils of an Expanded Currency. — The 
Military Situation in December. — Secretary Seddon's S4iameful Confession. — " De- 
magogism" in the Confederate War Department. — Seddon's Propositions. — Military 
" Substitutes." — An Act of Perfidy. — Bullying in Congress. — Spirit of the Confederate 
Soldiery. — Lincoln's " Peace Proclamation." — Its Stupidity, Insolence, and Out- 
rage. — How the Confederates Replied to it. — A New Appeal Against " Eecon- 
Btruction." — The Slavery Question in the War. — A French Opinion. ^The 
Abolitionists Unmasked. — Decay of European Sympathy with Them. — Review of 
Lincoln's " Emancipation" Policy. — The Arming of the Blacks. — The Negro Coloni- 
zation Schemes. — Experiments of New England " Civilization" in Louisiana. — 
Frightful Mortality of " Freedmen." — The Appalling Statistics of Emancipation. — 
The Contraband Camps in the Mississippi Valley. — Pictures of Yankee Philanthropy. 
—"Slavery" Tested by the War. — The Confederates the True Friends of the African 
Laborer. — The System of Negro Servitude in the Confederacy. — The " War-to-the- 
Knife" Party in the North. — History of the " Eetaliation" Policy. — The Outrages 
of Yankee Warfiire. — President Davis's Sentimentalism. — The Eecord of his Unpar- 
donable and Unparalleled Weakness. — A Peep into Yankee Prisons. — The Torture- 
Houses of the North. — Captain Morgan's Experience Among "the Convict-Drivers." 
— President Davis's Bluster. — His Two Faces. — Moral Effects of Submission to Yankee 
Outrage. — The Eival Administrations in December 1863. — Richmond and Washing- 
ton. — Mr. Lincoln's Gaiety. — New Issues for the Confederacy Page 174 



CHAPTER IX. . 

The Importance of the Winter Campaigns of the War. — A Series of Remarkable 
Events. — Encouragement of the Confederacy. — Eosser's Raid. — A Magnificent 
Prize. — Pickett's Expedition against Newbekn. — The Fight on Bachelor's Creek. — 



CONTENTS. *' 

Destruction of the Yankee Gunboat "Underwriter."— The Brilliant Exploit of Com- 
mander Wood.— Results of the Expedition.— The Affair ok John's Island.— Gencntl 
Wise's Fight.— The Battlk of Oce.\n Pond— Hi.story of the Yankee Expeditions into 
Florida.— Lincoln's Designs upon Florida.— Their Utter Defeat.— Political Jugglery 
of Seymour's Expedition.— Price of "Three Electoral Votes."— Sherman's Expedi- 
tion IN THE Southwest.— What it Contemplated.— Grant's Extensive Designs.— Th« 
Strategic Triangle.- Grant's Proposed Removal of the Mississippi River.— i'oWi.' 9. Ke- 
treat into Alabama.— Forrest's Heroic Enterprise.— His Defeat of Smith's and Grier- 
Bou's Columns.— Sherman's Retreat to Vicksburg.— His Disgraceful Failure.— The 
Yankee Campaign in the West Disconcerted.— The Lines in North Georgia.— Repulse 
of the Yankees Page 210 



CHAPTEK X. 

Auspicious Signs of the Spring of 1SG4.— Military Successes of the Confederates.— 
Improvements in the Internal Polity of the Confederacy— Two Important Measures 
of Legislation.— Revolution of our Finances.— Enlargement of the ConscriptiDn.— 
Theory of the New Military Law.— A Blot on the Political Record of the Confeder- 
acy.— Qualified Suspension of the Habeas Corpus.— An Infamous Edict, but a " Dead- 
letter."— An Official Libel upon the Confederacy.— The Real Condition of Civil 
Liberty in tlie South.— The Conscription not projjcrly a Measure of Force.— Im- 
pressments but a System of Patriotic Contribution.— Development of the Yankee 
Government into Despotism.— An Explanation of this.— The Essence of Despotism 
in One Yankee Statute.— Military Resources of the Confederacy.— Its Military 
System, the Best and Most Elastic in the World.— The War Conducted on A Volun- 
tary ^(z.sm.— Supplies.— Scarcity of Meat.— The Grain Product.— Two Centres of Sup- 
plies.— A Dream of Yankee Hate.— Great Natural Resources of the North.— Summary 
of the Yankee Military Drafts.— Tonnage of the Yankee Navy.— The Yankee War 
Debt.— Economic Effects of the War.— Its Etfects on European Industry.- Yankee 
Conquest of the South an Impossibility.— A Remarkable Incident of the War.— 
Dahlgkkn's Raid around Richmond.— Kilpatrick's and Custar's Parts of the Expe- 
dition.— Dahlgren and his Negro Guide.— His " Braves" Whipped by the Richmond 
Clerks and Artisans.— Deatii of the Marauder.— Revelation of his Infamous Designs. 
—Copy and History of " the Dahlgren Papers."— A Characteristic Yankee Apothe- 
osis.— Ridiculous and Infamous Behavior of the Confederate Authorities.— A Bru- 
tal and Savage Threat, — President Davis in Melodrama Page 228 



CHAPTER XL 

The Current of Confederate Victories.— The Red River Expedition.— Banks' Am- 
bitious Designs.— Condition of the Conferlerates West of the Mississippi.— Banks' 
Extensive Preparations.— A Gala Day at Vicksburg.— Yankee Capture of Fort De 
Knssy.— Occupation of Alexandria.— Porter's Warfare and Pillage.— Banks' Con- 
tinued Advance.- Shreveport, the Grand Objective Point.— Kirby Smith's Designs.— 
General Green's Cavalry Fight.— Battle of Mansfield.— Success of the Confeder- 
ates.— Battle OF Pleasant Hill.— The Heroic and Devoted Charge of the Confeder- 
ates.— The Scene on the Hill.— Banks Fatally Defeated.— Price's Capture of Yankee 
Trains.— Grand Results of Kirby Sniitli's Campaign.- Banks in Disgrace.— Yankee 
Tenure of Louisiana.— Forrest's Expedition into Kentucky.— His Gallant Assault 
on Fort Pillow.— The Yankee Story of " Massacre."- Capture of Union City.— Con- 
federate Occupation of Paducah.— Chastisement of the Yankees on their own Theatre 



10 CONTENTS. 

of Outrages— Capture of Plymouth, N. C. — General Hoke's Expedition. — Capture 
of" Fort Wessel." — Exploit of the " Albemarle." — The Assaults upon the Town. — 
Fruits of its Capture. — Tlie Yankees in North Carolina Page 246 



CHAPTEK XII. 

Close of tlie Third Year of the War. — Sketch of the SuDseqnent Operations in Vir- 
ginia and Georgia. — Grant's " On-to-Richmond." — The Combination Against the 
Confci-lerate Capital. — The Battles of the Wilderness. — A Thrilling Crisis. — Grant 
on the Verge of Rout. — His First Design Balfleil. — The Battles of Spottsylvania 
CouRT-HousK. — Death of General Sedgwick. — The Carnage of May the 12th. — Five 
Battles in Si.K Days. — Grant's Obstinacy.— " Tlie Butclier." — Sheridan's Expedition. 
— Death of General " Jeb" Stuart. — Butler's Operations on the South Side of the 
James. — " The Beast" at the Baek-Door of Richmond. — He is Driven to Beririuda 
Hundred by Beauregard. — Defeat of Sigel in the Valley. — Grant's Movement Down 
the Valley of the Rappahannock. — His Passage of the Pamnnkey. — Re-organization of 
General Lee's Lines. — Grant's Favorite Tactics. — Yankee Exultation at his Approach 
to Richmond — Caricatures of the Confederacy. — A Hasty Apotheosis. — A True The- 
ory of Grant's " Flank Movements." — ELis Occupation of McClellan's Old iines. — The 
Battle of the Chickahominy or Cold Harbor. — A Confederate Victory in Ten 
Minutes. — What Had Become of Yankee Exultation. — Review of the Rival Routes to 
Richmond. — Grant Crosses the James River. — His Second Grand Combination Against 
Richmond. — Hunter's Capture of Staunton. — The Battles of Petersburg. — General 
Wise's Heroic Address. — Engagement of 16th June. — Grand Assault of 18lh June. — 
on " the Cockade City." — A Decisive defeat of the Yankees. — Engagement at Port 
Walthal Junction — Sheridan's Defeat Near Gordonsville. — Hunter's Repulse at 
Lynchburg. — Two Aft'airs on the Weldon Railroad.— Grant's Second Combination a 
Complete Failure. — Discouragement of the North. — The Gold Barometer. — Secretary 
Chase's Declaration. — Sherman's " On-to-Atlanta." — His Flanking Movement. — 
Engagement in Resaca Valley. — Johnston's Retreat.— Engagement at New Hope. — 
Johnston's Telegram to RicliTnond. — Defeat of Sturgis's Expedition in Mississippi. — 
Battle of Kenesaw Mountain. — Sherman's Successful Strategy. — The Confederates 
Fall Back to Atlanta. — The Battles of Atlanta. — Hood's Gallant Defence. — .... 
The Military Situation in July, 1864. — Grant's F'ailure. — His Consumption of Troops. 
— Review of Yankee Atrocities in the Summer Campaign of 1S64. — Sherman's Char 
acter.— His Letter on " Wild Beasts."— His War on Factory Girls.— Sufferings of 
Confederate Women and Children. — Ravages in Georgia.— Hunter's Vandalism in 
Virginia. — " The Avengers of Fort Pillow." — Sturgis and his Demons.— The Spirit of 
the Confederates.— . . . Some Words on " Peace Negotiations." — A Piratical Prop- 
osition and an Infamous Bribe. — The Heroic Choice of the Confederates Page 261 



CHAPTER XIII. 

AMERICAN IDEAS : A REVIEW OF THE WAR. 

Sentimental Regrets concerning American History.— The European Opinion of 
"State" Institutions.— Calhoun, tlie Great Political Scholar of America.— His Doc- 
trines. — Conservatism oi "Nullification." — Its " Union" Sentiment. — Brilliant Vision 
of the South Carolina Statesman.— Webster, the Representative of the Imperfect and 
Insolent " Education" of New England.— Y'ankee Libels in the shape of Party 
Nomenclature.— Influence of State Institutions.— How they were Auxiliary to the 



CONTENTS. 11 

Utiion.— r/(e Moral Veneration of the Union. Peculiarly a Sentiment of the South.— 
What the South had done for the Union.— Senutor H;iinmoud's Speech.— The States 
not Schools of Provinciiilism and Estrangement.- The Development of America, a 
North and South, not Hostile States.- Peculiar Ideas of Yankee Civilization.-Ide'as 
Nursed in "Free Schools."— Yankee Materialism.— How it has Developed in the 
War.— Yankee Falsehoods and Yankee Cruelties.— His Commercial Politics.- Price 
of las Liberties.— Ideas of the Confederates in the War.-How the Washingtoa 
Eoutine was introduced. — The Kiehtnond Government, Weak and Negativ^e — 
No Political Novelty in the Confederacy.— The Future of Confederate Ideas.— 
Intellectual Barrenness of the War.— Material of the Confederate Army -The 
Birtli of Great Ideas.-The Old Political Idolators.-The Kecompense of Suf- 
fering V, -vn^ 

" Paoe 287 

The Battle of The Wilderness.— Correspondence of the London Herald . . Page 303 



APPENDIX. 

JAIL JOURNAL IN FORT WARREN, ETC. 

CHAPTER I. 

EuNNiNG THE BLoczADE.-The " Greyhound."-Passing the Blockade Lines.-The 
Capture.—! aukee Courtesy.— Off Fortress Monroe Page 323 

CHAPTER 11. 

Curiosities of the Yankee BLocxADE.-Correspondence with Lord Lyons, Page 330 

CHAPTER HI. 

T,^o w'J 'T ^''^•?';;-^"t'-^d"^tion to the U. S. Marshal.-In the Streets of Boston : 
Two Spectacle3.-A Circle of Secessionists.-The "Hub of the Universe.". Page 840 

CHAPTER nr. 

CoM^TMEr^T TO Fort WARREN.-Horrors of the Yankee Bastile.-Torture of " A 
Brutal Villain. ''-A Letter to Secretary Welles ^aL 3^ 

CHAPTER y. 

kef'T^Ne^"'? 7 ^^l^'^'-^'f^'T '^"^"^^^ of Sympathy.-Portrait of the Yan- 

Fort'^arfen!. . ^'^«P'^«'-<i-S«ffenngs and Eefleetions.-Fourth of July in 

Page 353 



12 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER YI. 

JoTJKNAL Notes Continued. — Life in the Casemates. — Some of the Secrets of 
Foreign "Neutrality." — Southern "Aristocracy." — My Boston Benefactress. — Lin- 
colniaua. — Massachusetts " Chivalry." Paob S59 



* CHAPTER YII. 

" Have we a Government ?" — A Commentary on " Eetaliation." Page 863 

CHAPTER YHI. 

An Episode in Prison. — A Council in the Casemates Page 866 

CHAPTER IX. 

Journal Notes Eesumed. — Protest to Lord Lyons. — " Peace Negotiations." — Com- 
forting Words of a Boston Lady Page 371 

CHAPTER X. 

Journal Notes Continued. — A Yankee's Confession : Confederate Civilization. — 
A "Map of Busy Life" in Boston. — . . . Sickness and Keflections in Prison: 
Female Philosophy on the War Page 375 

CHAPTER XI. 

Out of Prison. — My Parole. — In Yankee Atmosphere. — A Letter from Boston. — 
Waiting Page 382 

Chbonologt Paqe 387 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

Keview of the Battle of Chancellorsville.— Two Defects in the Victory of the Con- 
federates.—" The Finest Army on the Planet."— Analysis of the Victory.— General- 
ohip of Lee.— Services and Character of the great Confederate Leader.— His Com- 
monplaces and his Virtues.— The Situation in Virginia.— Lee's Preparations for the 
Summer Campaign. — Hooker to be Maneuvered out of Virginia. — Eeorganization of 
Lee's Army.— The Affair of Brandy Station.— The Capture op Winchester.— The 
AiFair of Aldie's Station. — Lee's Army Crossing the Potomac. — Invasion of Pennsyl- 
vania. — Alarm in the North. — Hooker Out-Generalled and Kemoved. — The Mild 
Warfare of the Confederate Livaders.— Southern "Chivalry."— General Lee's Error. 
—His Splendid March from Culpepper Court House to Gettysburg.— Feverish Anti- 
cipations in Richmond. — The Battle of Gettysburg. — First Day's Engagement. — 
A Kegiment of Corpses. — Charge of Gordon's Brigade. — The Nine Mississippi 
Heroes. — The Yankees Driven through Gettysburg. — A Fatal Mistake of the Con- 
federates.— General Lee's Embarrassments. — The Second Day.— Cemetery Hill. — 
Early's Attack Almost a Suceess.-^Ad venture of Wright's Brigade. — The Third 
Day. — Sublime Terrors of the Artillery. — Heroic and Ever-Memorable Charge of 
Pickett's Division on the Heights.— Half a Mile of Shot and Shell. — Pickett's Sup- 
ports Fail. — The Recoil.— General Lee's Behavior. — His Greatness in Disaster. — Im- 
mense Carnage. — Death of General Barksdale, " the Haughty Rebel." — General Lee's 
Retreat. — The Affair of Williamsport. — Lee Recrosses the Potomac. — Success of his 
Retreat. — Yankee Misrepresentation.— Review of the Pennsylvania Campaign. — Half 
of Lee's Plans Disconcerted at Richmond. — Results of the Battle of Gettysburg Ne- 
gative. — Lee's Retreat Across the Potomac an Inconsequence. — Disappointment in 
Richmond. — The Budget of a Single Day in the Confederate Capital. 

In the close of a former volume, we proposed to open the 
Third Year of the War with a revised and extended account 
of the battles fought between Fredericksburg and Chancellors- 
ville, on the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th of May, 1863. On examina- 
tion, however, of what has already been written of these 
events, we find so little of authentic detail to add to it, that we 
shall content ourselves with a general reference to this impor- 
tant series of engagements (known collectively as the battle of 
Chancellorsville), and a concise statement of results. 

We have "liere again the old story of a great and bloody 
battle, defective in conclusion and barren in practical results. 
The Confederates had failed to capture Sedgwick's corps by 



14 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



not seizing Banks' Ford. .The capture of his whole corps 
would then have been inevitable, for we held the access to 
Fredericksburg guarded. As it was, Hooker was able to cross 
the river under cover of night with all of his army but M'hat 
had been lost in the casualties of the fight ; and the Southern 
public were again treated to the old excuse that we had neither 
the men nor the facilities to pursue him. 

But, notwithstanding these deficiencies of our victory, it was 
a great and brilliant one, and it gave the Confederacy occasion 
of pride second to none in the war. The Confederates had 
whipped what Hooker entitled " the finest army on the planet." 
They had done this M'ith an effective fighting force which, com- 
pared with that of the enemy, was as three to ten. They had 
put thirty thousand of the enemy hors du comhat^ while our 
own casualties did not foot up more than one-third of that 
number. This battle, more than anything else, confirmed the 
fame of General Lee ; for, however it had failed in accomplish- 
ing all that was possible, it was at least a victory won against 
an enemy of superior numbers, who had the advantage of the 
initiative and naturally secured that of position. 

General Hooker had come with eight days' rations and a plan 
of battle combining all that was essential on paper to a com- 
plete success. General Lee had to watch the movements of 
Hooker until they were developed ; to arrest his progress by 
attack ; to engage him at the same time with a flank movement 
with a portion of his forces ; and then to transfer his blows to 
Sedgwick. All this was done with a readiness of combination 
that showed a high order of military ability. Hooker was de- 
feated by two critical circumstances : the flank movement of 
Jackson, executed with signal rapidity and decision, and the 
failure of Sedgwick to efi'ect a junction. It was these move- 
ments and interpositions directed by Lee which ranked him 
among the greatest of modern strategists. He was now recog- 
nized as the master military mind of the Confederacy. 

General Lee had, by a peVceptible progress, risen to be one 
of the most remarkable men of the revolution. His military 
life had been one of steady advancement. He had graduated 
at West Point in 1829, at the head of his class ; and it is said 
that, in that severe school and early test of the soldier, he had 
never been marked with a demerit or had received a repri- 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 15 

inarid. He had twice been brevetted in the Mexican war. For 
thirty years he had served the United States, and the period of 
disunion found him lieutenant-colonel of that famous regiment 
of cavalry of which Sydney Johnson was colonel. 

Upon the secession of Virginia he was appointed commander- 
in-chief of her forces, and organized an army with a system and 
rapidity that at once surprised and gratiiied the public. When 
President Davis made his appointments of generals, he was the 
third on the list : General Cooper being first, and General 
Sydney Johnson second. The appointments were made with 
reference to the rank held by each officer in the old army. The 
unfortunate campaign of General Lee in Western Yirginia in 
the lirst year of tiie war threw a shadow on his fame ; it disap- 
pointed his admirers and occasioned a very general denuncia- 
tion of his ability. The battles around Richmond secured his 
fame. There was, in fact, but little military merit in tliem ; 
but there was a great success, and results alone are the stand- 
ards of popular appreciation. It was when General Lee moved 
out to the line of the Rappahannock that the true display of 
his abilities commenced; and his title to a substantial and 
abiding fame he had now crowned with the victory of 
Chancellors ville. 

No one had ever accused General Lee of " genius." A 
sedate, methodical man, putting duty before everj- thing else, 
illustrating the unselfish and Christian orders of virtue, almost 
sublime in his magnanimity, and uniting with these qualities 
a fair intellectual ability and an excellent practical judgment, 
this modern copy of Washington had nothing with which to 
dazzle mankind, but much with which to win its sober admira- 
tion. It has often been remarked how entirely limited by pro- 
fessional routine was the circle of intellectual accomplishments 
in the old army of the United States. Thirty years in this 
school had not made General Lee an "Admirable Crichton." 
Outside of his profession, his conversation was limited to a few 
commonplaces; he knew nothing of literature, and never 
attempted to draw an illustration from history. But the 
stranger who was at first shocked at such poverty of accom- 
plishments in one so famous was soon won to admiration by 
the charming simplicity of a man who knew but little out- 
side of the line of his duty, but in that was pre-eminently able 



16 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

and thoronglily heroic. It may be said of him that he was one 
of those few self-depreciating men whose magnanimity was not 
sentimental, and whose modesty was not unmanly. 

In taking up the thread of our story after the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville, we must now follow this great commander in one 
of the most extraordinary movements of the war, and to one 
of its most critical and imposing fields. 

A great battle had now been twice fought on the line of the 
Kappahannock with no other effect than diiving the enemy 
back to the hills of Stafford. The position was one in which 
he could not be attacked to advantage. It was on this reflec- 
tion that General Lee resolved to maneuver Hooker out of Vir- 
ginia, to clear the Shenandoah Yalley of the troops of the 
enemy, and to renew the experiment of the transfer of hostili- 
ties north of the Potomac. It was a blow to the summer cam- 
paign of the enemy, calculated to disarrange it and relieve 
other parts of the Confederacy, but, above all, aimed at the 
prize of a great victory on Northern soil, long the aspiration 
of the Southern public. 

The movement commenced on the 3d of June. The army 
of Northern Virginia had been thoroughly reorganized, and 
the question of Stonewall Jackson's successor had been deter- 
mined to the satisfaction of the country. About the 20th of 
May the President commissioned both Major-generals R. S. 
Ewell and A. P. Hill as lieutenant-generals in the army of 
Northern Virginia. To each of these generals a corps was 
assigned, consisting of three divisions, General Longstreet, for 
this purpose, parting with one of his divisions (Anderson's), 
and A. P. Hill's old division being reduced by two brigades, 
was assigned to Major-general W. D. Pender. The two 
brigades thus taken from A. P. Hill's division, were united 
with Pettigrew's and another North Carolina brigade, and 
assigned to Major-general Heth, who, with Major-general 
Pender, was promoted from the rank of brigadier-generals. 
General A. P. Hill was assigned to the command of this corps, 
whilst General Ewell retained General Jackson's old corps, 
consisting of Early's division ; Early having been made a 
Major-general in February, and receiving command of Ewell's 
old division ; Rode's division and Trimble's division, to which 
^General Edward Johnson, then just promoted to a major-gen- 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 17 

eralship, was assigned. Five of the six major-generals in the 
infantry department of this army, and the two corps generals, 
received their promotion within the twelve months past. 

On the 3d of June McLaw's division of Longstreet's corps 
left Fredericksburg for Culpepper Court-house, and Hood's di- 
vision, which was occupied on the Kapidan, marched to the 
same place. General Ewell's corps took up the line of march 
from its camps near Fredericksburg on the morning of June 
4th, moving in the direction of Culpeper Court-House. On 
the same evening Longstreet's corps moved in the same direc- 
tion. On Friday, June 5th, the enemy crossed a force below 
Fredericksburg, near the Bernard House, as if they intended to 
move once more upon our lines, stretching from Hamilton's 
crossing up to Fredericksburg. Ewell and Longstreet were 
halted at or near Locust Grove, in Orange county, to await the 
issue of the movement. Hooker having made this diversion in 
our front, set himself to work in removing his stores and in 
retiring his troops from the Staiford heights. 

The forces of Longstreet and Ewell reached Culppeper Court- 
house by the 8th,, at which point the cavalry, under General 
Stuart, was also concentrated. On the 9th a large force of 
Federal cavalry, strongly supported by infantry, crossed the 
Rappahannock at Beverly's and Kelly's fords, and attacked 
General Stuart. A severe engagement ensued, continuing 
from early in the morning until late in the afternoon, when 
the enemy was forced to recross the river with heavy loss, 
leaving four hundred prisoners, three pieces of artillery, and 
several colors in our hands. 

This affair, popularly known as that of Brandy Station, was 
distinguished by an extraordinary exploit of Confederate troops. 
In one of the charges the Eleventh Virginia cavalry, under Col- 
onel Lomax, captured, the third and last time, a battery of three 
pieces, the Sixth regiment and Thirty-fifth battalion having done 
so before them. Pushing his success, he divided his regiment, 
sending a squadron after the fugitives east of the railroad, 
while, with the remainder of his regiment, he assailed three 
regiments of cavalry, awaiting him at the depot. He routed 
this whole force completely. 



IS THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAK. 



THE CAPTURE OF WINCHESTER. 

General Jenkins, with liis cavalry brigade, had been ordered 
to advance towards Winchester to co-operate with the infantry 
in the proposed expedition into the Lower Valley, and at the 
same time General Imboden was directed, with his command, 
to make a demonstration in the direction of Romney, in order 
to cover the movement against Winchester, and prevent the 
enemy at that place from being reinfoi'ced by the troops on the 
line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. Both of these officers 
were in position when General Ewell left Culpepper Court- 
house, on the 16th. Crossing the Shenandoah near Front 
Eoyal, he detached Kodes' division to Berryville with instruc- 
tions, after dislodging the forces stationed there, to cut off" the 
communication between Winchester and the Potomac. With 
the divisions of Early and Johnson, General Ewell advanced 
directly upon Winchester, driving the enemy into his works 
around the town on the 13th. On the same day the troops at 
Berryville fell back before General Rodes,* retreating to Win- 
chester. Lieutenant-general Ewell, after consultation with 
Major-general Early, determined upon a flank movement, in 
order to reduce the town, as preferable to an assault in front. 
General Early at once began to move to attack a work of the 
enemy on the Pughtown road, on a hill commanding their main 
fort. 

About an hour before sunset, on the evening of the llrth of 
June, General Early, without encountering scout or picket, was 
in easy cannon range of the enemy's work, which it was his 
purpose to assault. He at once set to work making disposition 
of his forces preparatory to the attack. Twenty pieces of ar- 
tillery were placed in position. Hay's Louisiana brigade was 
now ordered to prepare for the charge. Our artillery opened 
a vigorous and well-directed fire on the enemy's works and 
guns. ,They responded with considerable spirit. Then Hay's 
Lonsianians moved forward to the music of our cannon, which 
were still playing upon the works of the enemy. No Yankee 
dared show his head above the parapet. When our men got 
within two hundred yards of the enemy's works, suddenly our 
artillery ceased. And now Hay's men charge over an abattis, 



THE THIRD TEAli OF THE "WAR. 19 

capturing the work and taking six pieces of artillery. The 
enemy vainly attempted, under cover of the guns of their main 
fort, to form in the bottom, between the two hills, and retake 
the works, but Hay's men manned and turned the enemy's 
own guns upon them. A few well-directed shots quickly broke 
them in confus^ion, and they retreated to the inner fort. 

General Edward Johnston had been ordered to move to the 
Martinsburg road, and intercept the expected retreat of the 
enemy. His dispositions had scarcely been made when the 
Yankees charged, with loud yelling, hoping to break through 
our lines and escape. The battle raged for nearly an hour, our 
troops (but little over twelve hundred men) being greatly out- 
numbered. Just, however, as the last of our cartridges gave out, 
General Walker came up. The enemy had by this time divided 
into two columns, for the purpose of endeavoring to turn both 
of our flanks simultaneously. General Walker charged the 
party attempting to turn our right flank, and they surrendered. 
General Johnson moved the two Louisiana regiments, held in 
reserve, against the body of the enemy attempting to pass our 
left flank, and captured the greater part of them. Though 
Milroy and three hundred cavalry, besides some straggling in- 
fantry, made their escape, our captures here amounted to some 
twenty-five hundred men. The unfortunate Yankee com- 
mander fled to Harper's Ferry with his small party of fugi- 
tives. 

General Kodes marched from Berryville to Martinsburg, 
entering the latter place on the 14th, where he took seven 
hundred prisoners, five pieces of artillery and a considerable 
quantity of stores. These operations cleared the valley of the 
enemy, those at Harper's Ferry withdrawing to Maryland 
Heights. More than four thousand prisoners, twenty-nine 
pieces of artillery, two hundred and seventy wagons and am- 
bulances, with four hundred horses, were captured, besides a 
large amount of military stores. Our loss was small. On the 
night that Ewell appeared at Winchester, the Federal troops 
in front of A. P. Hill, at Fredericksburg, recrossed the Kap- 
pahannock, and the next day disappeared behind the hills of 
Staflbrd. 

The onward movement of General Lee had now fairly com- 
menced. The success of Winchester was a brilliant introduc- 



20 THE IIIIKD TEAK OF THE WAR. 

tion to the campaign. The men who had achieved this success, 
and who had been trained in marching, fighting and endurance, 
under Stonewall Jackson, were approj^riately placed in the van 
of the imposing movement that now threatened the territory 
of the agitated and alarmed Nortli. 

The whole army of General Hooker withdrew from the line 
of the Rappahannock, pursuing the roads near the Potomac, 
and no favorable opportunity was ottered for attack. It seemed 
to be the purpose of General Hooker to take a position which 
would enable him to cover the approaches to Washington 
City. 

With this view, he occupied strong positions at Centreville 
and Manassas, so as to interpose his army between us and 
AYashington, and thus prevent a sudden descent from the Blue 
Ridge by General Lee upon the Yankee capital. Meanwhile, 
Longstreet and Hill were following fast upon Ewell's track, 
the former reaching Ashby's and Snicker's gaps in time to pre- 
vent any movement upon Ewell's rear, and the latter (Hill) 
getting to Culpepper in good season to protect Long-street's 
rear, or to co-operate with him in the event of an attack upon 
his flank, or to guard against any demonstration in the direc- 
tion of Richmond. 

When Longstreet occupied the mountain gaps, the cavalry, 
under General Stuart, was thrown out in his front to watch the 
enemy, now reported to be moving into Loudon. On the 
17th, his cavalry encountered two brigades of ours, under 
General Stuart, near Aldie, and was driven back with loss. 
The next day the engagement was renewed, the Federal cavalry 
being strongly supported by infantry, and General Stuart, in 
turn, was compelled to retire. 

The enemy advanced as far as Upperville and then fell back. 
In these engagements General Stuart took about four hundred 
prisoners and a considerable number of horses and arms. 

In the meantime, a portion of Ewell's corps had crossed the 
Potomac at Williamsport. ISTo report had been received that 
the Federal army had crossed the Potomac, and the absence 
of the cavalry rendered it impossible to obtain accurate infor- 
mation. In order, however, to retain it on the east side of the 
mountains after it should enter Maryland, and thus leave open 
our communication with the Potomac, through Hagerstown 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 21 

and WilUamsport, General Ewell had been instructed to send 
a division eastwards from Chambersburg to cross the South 
Mountains. Early's division was detached for this purpose, and 
proceeded as far east as York, while the remainder of the corps 
proceded to Carlisle. 

On the 24th, the whole of A. P. Hill's corps crossed the Po- 
tomac at Shepherdstown, that of Longstreet having previously 
reached the Maryland shore by the Williamsport ford — the 
corps of General Longstreet being composed of the divisions of 
McLaws, Pickett and Hood, whilst that of Hill consisted of 
Pender, Heth and Anderson. The columns reunited at Hagers- 
town, and advanced thence into Pennsylvania, encamping near 
Chambersburg on the 27th. 

The invasion of Pennsylvania had now progressed to a crisis, 
which was the signal of unbounded excitement in the North. 
On the 29th, Brigadier-general Jenkins and command went 
within sight and artillery range of Harrisburg, with a view, it 
was thought, of attack. The light horsemen of the Confederates 
scoured the southern region of Pennsylvania. For weeks the 
dashing and adventurous cavalry of Jenkins andlmboden were 
persistently busy in scouring the country between the Susque- 
hannah and the Alleghanies, the Monocacy and the Potomac, 
and from the lines before Harrisburg their trumpets had 
sounded. 

At the first news of the invasion, Lincoln had called for a 
hundred thousand men to defend Washington. Governor 
Andrews oflPered the whole military strength of Massachusetts 
in the terrible crisis. Governor Seymour, of New York, sum- 
moned McClellan to grave consultations respecting the de- 
fences of Pennsylvania. The bells were set to ringing in 
Brooklyn. Regiment after regiment was sent off from New 
York to Philadelphia. The famous Seventh regiment took the 
field, and proceeded to Harrisburg. The Dutch farmers in the 
valley drove their cattle to the mountains, and the archives 
were removed from Harrisburg. 

Hooker had declined a battle in Virginia. This hesitation 
was to cost him his command ; it was the theme of bitter 
reproach in the North. Lee had been allowed to obtain the 
important advantage of the military initiative, and had gained 
time enough to firmly establish his communications in the rear 



22 THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAR. 

of his base of operations on the other side of the Potomac. 
Having brought up and consolidated his forces with consum- 
mate address he was in a position to hurl them wherever he 
might desire. 

On crossing the Potomac, Hooker had taken up a line ex- 
tending from Wasliington to Baltimore, expecting General Lee 
to offer him battle in Maryland. Finding himself disappointed 
in this, and compelled by his superiors at Washington, or 
smarting under their distrust, he relinquished his command to 
George C. Meade, who, finding that Lee had deflected in his 
march through Pennsylvania, moved towards Chambersburg 
to meet him. 

General Lee had proposed to attack Harrisburg, On the 
30th, as General Ewell was preparing to march to Harrisburg, 
twenty miles distant, an order came to him to unite his corps 
with the rest of the army near Gettysburg, Major-general 
Early, of this corps, who, after crossing the river, had moved 
to York, and who was then at that place, was at once notified, 
and the corps immediately took up the line of march. 

Important news had been received. On the night of the 
29th, information was brought to General Lee's head-quarters 
that the Federal army, having crossed the Potomac, was ad- 
vancing northwards, and that the head of the column had 
reached the South Mountain. As our communications with 
the Potomac were thus menaced, it was resolved to prevent his 
further progress in that direction by concentrating our army 
on the east side of the mountains. Accordingly, Longstreet 
and Hill were directed to proceed from Chambersburg to 
Gettysburg, to which point General Ewell had been also in- 
structed to march. 

A day pregnant with a momentous issue was at hand. The 
two armies which had ceased to confront each other since the 
breaking up of the Fredericksburg lines found themselves 
again face to face near Gettysburg, on Wednesday, July 1st. 

Before turning to the bloody page of Gettysburg, the curi- 
osity of the reader naturally inquires into the conduct of the 
Confederate army on the long march which had at last pene- 
trated the fruitful fields of Pennsylvania. Considering what 
the country and homes of the Confederacy had suffered from 
the ferocity of the enemy, it might have been supposed that 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 23 

Lee's army would have improved their grand opportunity in 
Pennsylvania, not indeed by an imitation of the enemy's out- 
rages in the South, but by that eminently justifiable retaliation 
which, while it scorns to mete out in kind the enemy's crime, 
in arson, pillage and innocent blood, insists upon doing him 
some commensurate injury by severe acts of war, done with 
deliberation and under the authority of superiors. Such ex- 
pectations were disappointed. Every just and intelligent 
reader of the records of this war must wonder that General 
Lee gave a protection to the citizens of Pennsylvania which 
had never been accorded to our own people ; that, with an ob- 
tuseness that is inexplicable, he confounded two very different 
classes of retaliation ; and that, while forbidding the irregular 
pillage of the country, and threatening marauders with death 
(which admirable orders were heartily approved by all people 
in the South), he also restrained his army from laying waste 
the country in line of battle, or destroying the enemy's subsis- 
tence. Such tenderness, the effect of a weak and strained 
chivalry, or more probably that of deference to European 
opinion, is anotlier of the many instances which the war has 
furnished of the simplicity and sentimental facility of the 
South. 

General Lee attempted conciliation of a people who were 
little capable of it, but were always ready to take counsel of 
their fears. The effect of his moderate warfare on such a people 
was to irritate them without intimidating them ; in fact, to com- 
pose their alarms and to dissuade them from what had been 
imagined as the horrors of invasion. In this respect, his move- 
ment into Pennsylvania gave to the enemy a certain moral 
comfort, and encouraged the prosecution of the war. 

AVith reference, now, to tlie military features of the move- 
ment, it must rank with the most remarkable marches on re- 
cord. Looking back to the Kappahannock, we now see what 
Lee had accomplished. When he set out upon the northern 
expedition, he was confronted by one of the largest and best- 
appointed armies the enemy ever had in the field. Winchester, 
Martinsburg, Harper's Ferry and Berryville were garrisoned 
by hostile forces. The cavalry of the enemy were in splendid 
condition. General Lee marched over the Blue Ridge and 
across the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. The mountain 



( 



24: THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

passes and the fords of the rivers might have been effectually 
blockaded. The whole of the lower valley was in possession 
of the enemy. And yet, starting from Culpepper Court-house, 
General Lee conducted his army across the mountains, along 
the valley and over the rivers, without encountering serious 
opposition. Except a few cavalry engagements, the army 
marched from Culpepper Court-house to Gettysburg, in Penn- 
sylvania, without resistance. 

The conjuncture which had been reached was the most criti- 
cal of the war. Meade's army was the only real obstacle which 
could impede the triumphant march of the army of Lee into 
the very heart of the Yankee States, and in whatever direction 
lie might choose to push his campaign. The press attempted 
some ridiculous comfort by writing vaguely of thousands of 
militia springing to arms. But the history of modern warfare 
afforded better instruction, for it taught clearly enough that an 
invading army of regular and victorious troops could only be 
effectively checked by the resistance of a similar army in the 
field, or of fortified places strong enough to compel a regular 
siege. Li Richmond, the garish story of the newspapers pre- 
pared the public mind for a great victory. There was the re- 
newed and feverish anticipation of an early peace. The elated 
public of the Confederate capital little imagined that, in a few 
days, events were to occur to turn back the war for years. 



THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 

The march towards Gettysburg was conducted slowly. At 
10 o'clock A.M., on the Ist instant, Heth's division, of Hill's 
corp, being ahead, encountered the enemy's advance line, the 
Eleventh corps, about three miles west of Gettysburg. Here a 
sharp engagement ensued, our men steadily advancing and 
driving the enemy before them to the town, and to a range of 
hills or low mountains run,ning out a little east of south from 
the town. 

General Reynolds, who commanded the enemy's advance, 
rode forward to inspect the ground and select a position for his 
line of battle. The Confederates, distinguishing him from his 
uniform to be an oflicer of high rank, opened upon him with 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 25 

heavy volleys of infantry fire. He was struck by several balls, 
and died instantly without uttering a word. 

About an hour after the opening of the engagement, which 
was principally of artillery, General Ewell, who was moving 
from the direction of Carlisle, came up and took a position on 
our extreme left. Rodes came into the engagement on the 
flank of the enemy, who were confronting A. P. Hill, and oc- 
cupied the most commanding point of the very ridge with 
artillery which the enemy were upon. This ridge runs in the 
shape of a crescent around Gettysburg, following the windings 
of a creek which is between it and the town. 

After our artillery had been engaged for some half an hour, 
with admirable effect, the enemy wei*e observed to be moving 
rapidly from Hill's front to that of Rodes, and to be advanc- 
ing their new columns against Rodes from the town. Rodes, 
his dispositions having been made, advanced his whole line. 
It had first to cross a field, six hundred yards wide, and enter 
woods — immediately upon entering which it became hotly 
engaged. 

The Alabama brigade (Rodes' old command) advanced some- 
what confusedly, owing, it is said, to a misconception as to the 
direction which it should take, and, whilst confused, became 
engaged, and was forced back with its lines broken, though re- 
inforced by the Fifth Alabama, which uncovered Lawson's 
brigade. This brigade was thought to have behaved badly ; 
it was reported to General Rodes, in the midst of the fight, that 
one of the regiments had raised the white flag, and gone over 
in a body to the enemy. The only foundation for this report 
was, that two of the regiments were almost entirely surrounded, 
in consequence of the giving way of the Alabama brigade and 
the concentration of the enemy at that point, and were either 
killed or captured almost to a man. The gallant resistance, 
however, which they made is shown by a statement coming 
from General Rodes himself: that, riding along behind where 
their line had been, he thought he observed a regiment lying 
down, as if to escape the Yankee fire. On going up, however, 
to force them into the fight, he found they were all corpses. 

As the battle wavered General Early came up, and got his 
artillery into position so as to enfilade and silence batteries 
which were then occupied in an attempt to enfilade Rodes' 



26 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

battery. As tlie enemy attempted a flank movement, Gordon's 
brigade of gallant Georgians was ordered to make a charge. 
They crossed a small stream and valley, and entered a long 
narrow strip of an opposite slope, at the top of which the enemy 
had a strong force posted. For five minutes nothing could be 
heard or seen save the smoke and roar proceeding from the 
heavy musketry, and indicating a desperate contest ; but the 
contest was not long or uncertain. The Yankees were put to 
flight, and our men pressed them, pouring a deadly tire at the 
flying fugitives. Seeing a second and larger line near the 
town. General Early halted General Gordon until two other 
brigades (Hayes' and Hoke's) could come up, when a second 
charge was made, and three pieces of artillery, besides several 
entire regiments of the enemy, were captured. 

There should not be lost from the records of the individual 
heroism of the Confederacy- an incident of this battle. During 
a lull in the engagement, when the enemy were reforming and 
awaiting reinforcements. Lieutenant Eoberts, of the Second Mis- 
sissippi, observing, some distance off", but nearer the enemy's than 
our own fires, two groups, each consisting of from seven to ten 
men, and each guarding a stand of colors, called for volunteers 
to take them. Four gallant spirits from his own, and an equal 
number from the Forty-second Mississippi regiment, readily re- 
sponded, and soon a dash is made for the colors. A hand-to-hand 
fight ensued, in which all on both sides were either killed or 
wounded, except Private McPherson, who killed the last 
Yankee color-bearer and brought off the colors, Lieutenant 
Koberts being killed just as he was seizing one of the colors. 

The result of the day's fight may be summed up thus : We 
had attacked a considerable force ; had driven it over three 
miles; captured five thousand prisoners, and killed and 
wounded many thousands. Our own loss was not heavy, 
though a few brigades suffered severely. 

Unfortunately, however, the enemy, driven through Gettys- 
burg, got possession of the high range of hills south and east 
of the town. Here was the fatal mistake of the Confederates. 
Li the engagement of the 1st instant, the enemy had but a 
small portion of his force up, and if the attack had been pressed 
in the afternoon of that day there is little doubt that our forces 
could have got the heights and captured this entire detach- 



THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAK. 



27 



ment of Meade's army. But General Lee was not aware of the 
enemy's weakness on this day. In fact, he had fonnd nmself 
unexpectedly confronted by the Yankee army. He had never 
intended to fight a general battle so far from his base. He was 
forced to deliver battle where prudence would have avoided 
it • he could obtain no certain information of the disposition ot 
Meade's forces ; and the inaction of an evening-the failure to 
f,.llow up for a few hours a success— enabled the Yankee com- 
mander to bring up his whole army, and post it on an almost 
impregnable line which we had permitted a routed detachment 
of a few thousand men to occupy. 

Durino- the night, General Meade and staff came up to the 
front. Before morning all his troops but the Sixth corps, com- 
manded by General Sedgwick, arrived on the held. The forces 
of the enemy were disposed on the several hills or ridges, so as 
to construct a battle-line in the form of a crescent. 

The town of Gettysburg is situated upon the northern slope 
of this ridcre of hills or mountain range, and about one and a 
half or two miles from its summit. The western slope of this 
range was in cultivation, except small " patches,'' where the 
mountain side is so precipitous as to defy the efforts ot he 
farmer to bring it into subjection to the ploughshare. At the 
foot of the mountain is a narrow valley, from a mile to two 
miles in width, broken in small ridges running parallel with 
the mountain. On the western side of the valley rises a long, 
hio-h hill, mostly covered with heavy timber, but greatly m- 
feSor in altitude to the mountain range upon which the enemy 
had taken position, but running nearly parallel with it. The 
valley between this ridge and the mountain was m cultivation, 
and the fields were yellow with the golden harvest. About 
four or five miles south from Gettysburg, the mountain rises 
abruptly to an altitude of several hundred feet. Upon this the 
enemy rested his left flank, his right being upon the crest of 
the range about a mile or a mile and a half from Gettysburg. 

Our line of battle was formed along the western slope of the 
second and inferior range described above, and in the follow- 
ino- order: Ewell's corps on the left, beginning at the town 
with Early's division, then Kodes' division; on the right ot 
Rodes' division was the left of Hill's corps, commencing with 
Heth's, then Pender's and Anderson's divisions. On the right 



2S THE THIUB YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of Anderson's division was Longstreet's, left, McLaw's division 
being next to Anderson's, and Hood on the extreme right of 
our line, which was opposite the eminence upon wliich the 
enemy's left rested. 

THE SECOND DAY. 

The preparations for attack were not completed until the 
afternoon of the 2d. Late in the afternoon an artillery attack 
was made by our forces on the left and centre of the enemy, 
which was rapidly followed by the advance of our infantry, 
LoTigstreet's corps on our side being principally engaged. A 
fearful but indecisive contest ensued, and for four hours the 
sound of musketry was incessant. The main object of the 
attack of the Confederates was the famous Cemetery Hill, the 
key of the enemy's position. The enemy's artillery replied 
vigorously. The roar and thunder and flame and smoke of 
artillery, and the screech of shells, so completely filled the 
heavens that all else seemed forgotten. 

General Ewell had been ordered to attack directly the high 
ground on the enemy's right, which had already been partially 
fortified. It was half an hour of sunset when Johnson's infan- 
try were ordered forward to the attack. In passing down the 
hill on which they had been posted, and whilst crossing the 
creek, they were much anno^'ed by the fire to which they were 
subjected from the enemy's artillery, which, from Cemetery 
Hill poured nearly an enfilade fire upon them. The creek was 
wide, and its banks steep, so that our men had to break ranks 
in order to cross it. Having passed the creek. General Jones' 
brigade was thrown into disorder and retired a short distance. 

On the extreme left, General G. H. Stewart's brigade was more 
successful. Pushing around to the enemy's left, he enfiladed 
and drove the enemy from a breastwork they had built in 
order to defend their right flank, and wliich ran at right angles 
to the rest of their lines up the mountain side. The enemy, 
however, quickly moved forward a force to retake it, but were 
repulsed, our troops occupying their own breastworks in order 
to receive their attack. General Stewart made no further 
effort to advance. Night had nearly fallen, and the ground 
was new to him. 




L^ C EN. R. S. EV/ ELL. 



THK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 29 

General Early, upon hearing General Johnson's infantry en- 
gaged, sent forward Hayes' Louisiana and Hoke's North Caro- 
lina brigades. The troops, advancing as a storming party, 
quickly passed over a ridge and down a hill. In a valley be- 
low they met two lines of the Federals posted behind stone- 
walls. These they charged. At the charge the Federals broke 
and fled up the hill closely pursued by our men. It was now 
dark ; but Hayes and Avery, still pursuing, pushed the enemy 
up tiie hill and stormed the Cemetery heights. 

The contest here was intensely exciting and terrible. The 
gloom of the falling night was lighted up by the flashes of the 
enemy's guns. Thirty or forty pieces, perhaps more, were 
firing grape and canister with inconceivable rapidity at Eai-ly's 
column. It must have been that they imagined it to have been 
a general and simultaneous advance, for they opened on our 
men in three or four directions besides that which they were 
attacking. 

Hayes' and Hoke's brigades pressed on and captured two or 
three lines of breastworks and three or four of their batteries 
of artillery. For a few moments every gun of the enemy on 
the heights was silenced ; but, by the time General Hayes could 
get his command together, a dark line appeared in front of 
them and on either flank a few yards o&. The true situation 
soon became clear. The Yankees were bringing up at least a 
division to retake the works. General Hayes, being unsup- 
ported by the troops on his right (which were from Hill's 
corps), was compelled to fall back. 

Major-general Rodes commenced to advance simultaneously 
with General Early. He had, however, more than double the 
distance of Early to go, and being unsupported by the troops 
on his right, who made no advance, he consequently moved 
slower than he would have done had he been supported. 
Before reaching the enemy's works Early had been repulsed, 
and so General Rodes halted, thinking it useless to attack since 
he was unsupported. 

When the second day closed this was the position of Ewell's 
corps. Johnson's left had gained important ground, part of it 
being a very short distance from the top of the mountain, 
which, if once gained, would command the whole of the 
enemy's position ; but his right had made no progress. Early's 



30 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE "WAR. 

attack, almost a brilliant success, had produced no results, and 
he occupied nearly his former position. Rodes, having ad- 
vanced nearly half-M^ay to the enemy's works, and finding 
there good cover for his troops, remained in his advanced po- 
sition. 

But we must take the reader's attention to another part of 
the field, where a more dramatic circumstance than Early's 
momentary grasp of victory had occurred. 

General Hill had been instructed to threaten the centre of 
the Yankee line, in order to prevent reinforcements being sent 
to either wing, and to avail himself of any opportunity that 
might present itself to attack. 

On the right of Hill's corps and the left of Longstreet, be- 
ing joined on to Barksdale's brigade of McLaw's division, was 
Wilcox's brigade, then Perry's, Wright's, Posey's, Mahone's. 
At half-past five o'clock Longstreet commenced the attack, and 
AVilcox followed it up by promptly moving forward ; Perry's 
brigade quickly followed, and Wright moved simultaneously 
with him. The two divisions of Longstreet's corps soon en- 
countered the enemy, posted a little in rear of the Emmets- 
burg tui-npike, which winds along the slope of the range upon 
which the enemy's main force was concentrated. After a short 
but spirited engagement, the enemy was driven back upon the 
main line upon the crest of the hill. McLaw's and Hood's 
divisions made a desperate assault upon their main line ; but, 
owing to the precipitate and very rugged character of the 
slope, were unable to reach the summit. 

After Barksdale's brigade, of McLaw's division, had been en- 
gaged for some time, Wilcox, Wright, and Perry, were ordered 
forward, encountering a line of the enemy, and soon putting 
them to rout. Still pressing forward, these three brigades met 
with another and stronger line of the enemy, backed by twelve 
pieces of artillery. No pause was made. The line moved 
rapidly forward and captured the artillery. 

Another fresh line of battle was thrown forward by the 
enemy. Wright had swept over the valley under a terrific 
fire from the batteries posted upon the heights, had encoun- 
tered the enemy's advance line, and had driven him across the 
Emmetsburg pike, to a position behind a stone wall, or fence, 
which runs parallel with the pike, and about sixty or eighty 



THE THTKD TEAK OF THE WAE. 31 

yards in front of the batteries on the heights, and immediately 
under them. Here the enemy made a desperate attempt to 
retrieve his fortunes. The engagement lasted for fifteen or 
twenty minutes. Charging up the steep sides of the moun- 
tains, the Confederates succeeded in driving tlie enemy from 
behind the wall at the point of the bayonet. Kushing forward 
■with a shout, they gained the summit of the heights, driving 
the enemy's infantry in disorder and confusion into the woods 
beyond. 

The key of the enemy's position was for a moment in our 
hands. But the condition of the brave troops who had wrested 
it by desperate valor, had become critical in the extreme. 
Wilcox, Perry, and "Wright, had charged most gallantly over a 
distance of more than three-quarters of a mile, breaking two or 
three of the enemj^'s lines of battle, and capturing two or three 
batteries of artillery. Of course, our lines were greatly thinned, 
and our troops much exhausted. No reinforcements were sent 
this column by the Lieutenant-general commanding. The ex- 
tent of their success was not instantly appreciated. A de- 
cisive moment was lost. 

Wright's little brigade of Georgians had actually got in the 
enemy's entrenchments upon the heights. Perceiving, after 
getting possession of the enemy's works, that they were iso- 
lated — more than a mile from support — that no advance had 
been made on their left, and just then seeing the enemy's 
flanking column on their right and left flanks rapidly converg- 
ing in their rear, these noble Georgians faced about, abandon- 
ing all the guns they had captured, and cut their way back 
to our main lines, through the enemy, who had now almost en- 
tirely surrounded them. 

The results of the day were unfortunate enough. Our troops 
had been repulsed at all points save where Brigadier-general 
Stewart held his ground. A second day of desperate fighting 
and correspondingly frightful carnage was ended. But Gen- 
eral Lee still believed himself and his brave army capable of 
taking these commanding heights, and thus to be able to dic- 
tate a peace on the soil of the free States. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



THE THIRD DAT. 



The third day's battle was again to be commenced by the 
Confederates. At midnight a council of war had been held by 
the enemy, at which it was determined that the Confederates 
would probably renew the attack at daylight on the following 
morning, and that for that day the Yankees had better act 
purely on the defensive. 

The enemy's position on the mountain was well-nigh impreg- 
nable, for there was no conceivable advance or approach that 
could not be raked and crossed with the artillery. All the 
heights and every advantageous position along the entire line 
where artillery could be massed or a battery planted, frowned 
down on the Confederates through brows of brass and iron. 
On the slopes of the mountain was to occur one of the most 
terrific combats of modern times, in which more than two hun- 
dred cannon were belching forth their thunders at one time, 
and nearly two hundred thousand muskets were being dis- 
charged as rapidly as men hurried with excitement and passion 
could load them. 

Early in the morning preparations were made for a general 
attack along the enemy's whole line, while a large force was to 
be concentrated against his centre, with the view of retaking 
the heights captured and abandoned the day before. Long- 
street massed a large number of long-range guns (fifty-five in 
number) upon the crest of a slight eminence just in front of 
Perry's and Wilcox's brigades, and a little to the left of the 
heights, upon which they were to open. Hill massed some 
sixty guns along the hill in front of Posey's and Mahone's 
brigades, and almost immediately in front of the heights. At 
twelve o'clock, while the signal-flags were waving swift intel- 
ligence along our lines, the shrill sound of a Whitworth gun 
broke the silence, and the cannonading commenced. 

The enemy replied with terrific spirit, from their batteries 
posted along the heights. Never had been heard such tremend- 
ous artillery firing in the war. The warm and sultry air was 
hideous with discord. Dense columns of smoke hung over the 
beautiful valley. The lurid flame leaps madly from the can- 
non's mouth, each moment the roar grows more intense ; now 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



cliime in volleys of small arms. For one hour and a half this 
most terrific fire was continued, during which time the shriek- 
ing of shells, the crashing of falling timber, the fragments of 
rock flying through the air, shattered from the cliffs by solid 
shot, the heavy mutterings from the valley between the oppos- 
ing armies, the splash of bursting shrapnel, and the fierce 
neighing of wounded artillery-horses made a picture terribly 
grand and sublime. 

But there was now to occur a scene of moral sublimity and 
heroism unequalled in the war. The storming party was 
moved iip — Pickett's division in advance, supported on the 
right by Wilcox's brigade, and on the left by Hetli's division, 
commanded by Pettigrew. With steady measuied tread the 
division of Pickett advanced upon the foe. Never did troops 
enter a fight in such splendid order. Their banners floated 
defiantly in the breeze as they pressed across the plain. The 
flags wlilcli had waved amid the wild tempest of battle at 
Gaines' Mill, Frazer's Farm, and Manassas, never rose more 
proudly. Kemper, with his gallant men, leads the right ; 
Garnett brings up the left ; and the veteran Armistead, with 
his brave troops, moves forward in support. The distance is 
more than half a mile. As they advance the enemj'- fire with 
great rapidity — shell and solid shot give place to grape and 
canister — the very earth quivers beneath the heavy roar — wide 
gaps are made in this regiment and that brigade. The line 
moves onward, cannons roaring, grape and canister plunging 
and ploughing through the ranks, bullets whizzing as thick as 
hail-stones in winter, and men falling as leaves fall in the blasts 
of autumn. 

As Pickett got well under the enemy's fire, our batteries 
ceased firing, for want, it is said, of ammunition. It was a 
fearful moment — one in which was to be tested the pride and 
mettle of glorious Virginia. Into the sheets of artillery fire 
advanced the unbroken lines of Picketts' brave Yirginians. 
They have reached the Emmettsburg road, and here they meet a 
severe fire from heavy masses of the enemy's infantry, posted 
behind the stone fence, while their artillery, now free from the 
annoyance of our artillery, turn their whole fire upon this 
devoted band. Still they remain firm. Now again they ad- 
vance. They reach the works — the contest rages with intense 

3 



S-t THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

fiuy — men figlit almost hand to hand — the red cross and tlie 
"stars and stripes" wave defiantly in close proximity. A Fed- 
eral officer dashes forward in front of his shrinking columns, 
and with flashing sword, urges them to stand. General Pick- 
ett, seeing the splendid valor of his troops, moves among them 
as if courting death. The noble Garnett is dead, Armistead 
wounded, and the brave Kemper, with hat in hand, still cheer- 
ing on his men falls from his horse. But Kemper and Armis- 
tead have already planted their banners in the enemy's works. 
The glad shout of victory is already heard.* 

But where is Pettigrew's division — where are the supports? 
The raw troops had faltered and the gallant Pettigrew himself 
had been wounded in vain attempts to rally them. Alas, the 
victory was to be relinquished again. Pickett is left alone to 
contend with the masses of the enemy now pouring in upon 
him on every side. Now the enemy move around strong 
flanking bodies of infantry, and are rapidly gaining Pickett's 
rear. The order is given to fall back, and our men commence 
the movement, doggedly contesting for every inch of ground. 
The enemy pjess heavily our retreating line, and many noble 
spirits who had passed safely through the fiery ordeal of the 
advance and charge, now fall on the right and on the left. 

This division of Virginia troops, small at first, with ranks 
now torn and shattered, most of the officers killed or w'ounded, 
no valor able to rescue victory from such a grasp, annihilation 
or capture inevitable, slowly, reluctantly, fell back. It was 

* A correspondent of a Yankee paper thus alludes to the traces of the strug- 
gle at the Cemetry : 

" Monuments and headstones lie here and there overturned. Graves, once carefully 
tended by some loving hand, have been trampled by horses' feet until the vestiges of 
verdure have disappeared. The neat and well-trained shrubbery has vanished, or is 
but a broken and withered mass of tangled brushwood. On one grave lies a dead 
artillery horse fast decomposing under a July sun. On another lie the torn garments 
of some wounded soldier, stained and saturated with his blood. Across a small head- 
stone, bearing the words "To the memory of our beloved child, Mary," lie the frag- 
ments of a musket, shattered by a cannon shot. In the centre of the space enclosed 
by an iron fence and containing a half-dozen graves, a few rails are still standing 
where they were erected by our soldiers and served to support the shelter tents of a 
bivouacking squad. A family shaft has been broken to fragments by a shell, and 
only the base remains, with a portion of the inscription thereon. Stone after stone 
felt the effect of the/Vii d'enfer that was poured upon the crest of the hill. Cannon 
thundered, and foot and horse soldiers trampled over the sleeping-places of the dead. 
Other dead were added to those who are resting there, and many a wounded soldier 
htill lives to remember the contest above those silent graves." 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 35 

not given to these few remaining brave men to accomplish 
human impossibilities. The enemy dared not follow them be- 
yond their works. But the day was already lost. 

The field was covered with Confederates slowly juad sulkily 
retu-ing in small broken parties under a heavy fire of artillery. 
There was no panic. Never did a commanding general be- 
have better in such trying circumstances than did Lee. He 
was truly great in disaster. An English colonel who witnessed 
the fight, says : " I joined General Lee, who had, in the mean- 
while, come to the front on becoming aware of the disaster. 
General Lee was perfectly sublime. He was engaged in rally- 
ing and encouraging the broken troops, and was riding about 
a little in front of the wood quite alone — the whole of his staff 
being engaged in a similar manner further to the rear. His 
face, which is always placid and cheerful, did not show signs 
of the slightest disappointment, care, or annoyance, and he was 
addressing to every soldier he met a few words of encourage- 
ment, such as, ' All this will come right in the end ; we'll talk 
it over afterwards; but, in the meantime, all good men must 
rally. We want all good and true men just now,' &c. He 
spoke to all the wounded men that passed him, and the slightly 
wounded he exhorted ' to bind up their hurts and take up a 
musket' in this emergency. Yery few failed to answer his ap- 
peal, and I saw many badly wounded men take ofl" their hats 
and cheer him." 

"It is difiicult," says the same intelligent spectator, " to ex- 
aggerate the critical state of afi'airs as they appeared about this 
time. If the enemy or their general had shown any enterprise 
there is no sajdng what might have happened. General Lee 
and his officers were evidently fully impressed with a sense of 
the situation ; yet there was much less noise, fuss, or confusion 
of orders, than at any ordinary field day ; the men, as they 
were rallied in the wood, were brought up in detachments and 
lay down quiet and coolly in the positions assigned to them." 

At night the Confederate army held the same position from 
which it had driven the enemy two days previous. The starry 
sky hung over a field of hideous carnage. In the series of en- 
gagements a few pieces of artillery were captured by the Con- 
federates and nearly seven thousand prisoners taken, two thou- 
sand of whom were paroled on the field. Our loss in killed, 



36 TlIK TillKD YKAU OF THE V,' Mi. 

Avoundod, and prisoners, was quite ten tlionsand. The enemy's 
loss probably exeeeded our own, as tiie Yankees were closely 
crowded on the hills, and devoured by our artillery lire. The 
int'orniatiou of tiie enemy's loss is perhaps most accuratelv ob- 
tained from the bulletin furnished by his Surgeon-general, 
which stated that he had something over twelve thousand 
Yankee wounded under his control. Counting one killed for 
four wounded, and making some allowance for a large class of 
wounded men who had not come under tha control of the offi- 
cers referred to, we are justitied in stating the enemy's loss in 
casualties at Gettysburg as somewhere between fifteen and 
eighteen thousand. Our loss, slighter by many thousands in 
comparison, was yet frightful enough. On our side Pickett's 
division had been engaged in the hottest work of the day, and 
the havoc in its ranks was appaling. Its losses on this day are 
famous, and should be commemorated in detail. Every brig- 
adier in the division was killed or wounded. Out of twenty- 
four regimental ottioers, only two escaped unhurt. The Xintii 
Virginia went in two hundred and fift}* strong and came out 
with only thirty-eight men. 

Conspicuous in our list oi' casualties was the death ot' Major- 
general Pender, lie had borne a distinguished part in every 
engagement of this army, and was wounded on several occa- 
sions while leading his command with admirable gallantry and 
ability. Brigadier-generals Barksdale and Garnett were killed, 
and Ih'igadier-general Semmes mortally wounded, while lead- 
ing their troops with the courage that had always distin- 
guished them. The brave and generous spirit of Barksdale 
had expired, where he preferred to die, on the ensanguined 
Held of battle. Of this "haughty rebel,'' who had fallen 
within their lines, the Y'ankees told with devilish satisfaction 
the story that his end \vas that of extreme agony, and his last 
^vords were to crave, as a dying boon, a cup of water, and a 
stretcher from an ambulance boy. The letter of a Yankee 
officer testities that the brave and sufiering hero declared with 
his last breath that he wjis proud of the cause he died lighting 
for; proud ot^ the manner in which he received his death ; and 
contident that his countrymen were invincible. 

The fearful ti'ial of a retreat from a position for in the 
enemy's country was now reserved for General Lee. Happily 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE AVAR. 37 

he had an army with zeal unabated, courage intrepid, devotion 
unchilled ; with unbounded contidence in the wisdom of that 
great chieftiau who had so often led them to victory. The 
strength of the enemy's position; the reduction of our ammu- 
nition ; the dithculty of procuring supplies, these left no choice 
but retreat. 

On the night of the 4th, General Lee's army began to retire 
by the road to Fairlield, without any serious interruption on 
the part of the enemy. In passing through the mountains, in 
advance of the column, the great length of the trains exposed 
them to attack by the enenn^'s cavalry, which captured a num- 
ber of wagons a^d ambulances ; but they succeeded in rciich- 
ing Williamsport without serious loss. ^ 

They were attacked at that place on the 6th, by the enemy's 
cavahy, which was gallantly repulsed by General Imboden. 
The attacking force was subsequently encountered and driven 
off by General Stuart, and pursued for several miles in the 
direction of Boonsboro'. The army, after an arduous march, 
rendered more ditiicult by the rains, reached Hagerstown on 
the afternoon of tlie 6th and morning of the 7th July.* 

* The following official communication from General Lee illustrates the 
unreliability of despatches emanating from Yankee generals : 

IIkadquarters Army Northern Virginia, ) 
2l8t July, 1S63. ) 

Genekal S. Coopkr, Adjutant and Inspector- General 0. S. A., Kicliinond, Va. : 

General — I have seen in Northern papers what pnvported to be an official despatch 
from General Meade, stating tliat he had c;iptured a brifrade of infantry, two pieces of 
artillery, two caissons, and a large number of small arms, as this army retired to the 
south bank of the Potomac, on the ISth and Uth inst. 

This despatch has been copied into the Kichuiond papers, and as its official charac- 
ter may cause it to be believed, I desire to state that it is incorrect. The enemy did 
not capture any organized body of men on that occasion, but only stragglers and such 
as were left asleep on the road, exhausted by the fatigue and exposure of one of the 
most inclement nights I have ever known at this season of the year. It rained with- 
out cessation, rendering the road by which our troops inarched to the bridge at 
F;dling Waters very ditficult to pass, and causing so much delay that the last of the 
troops did not cross the river at tiie bridge until 1 p. i£. on the 14th. While the col- 
umn was thus detained on the road, a number of men, worn down with fatigue, lay 
down in barns and by the roadside, and though officers were sent back to arouse 
them, as the troops moved on, the darkness and rain prevented them from finding 
nil, and many were in this way left behind. Two guns were left in the road. The 
horses that drew them became exhausted, and the officers went forward to procure 
otliers. When they returned, the rear of the column had passed the guns so far that 
it was deemed unsafe to send back for them, and they were thus lost. No arms, 
caunou, or prisoners were taken by the enemy ui battle, but only such as were left 



38 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

The enemy in force reached our front on the 12th, A posi- 
tion had been previously selected to cover the Potomac from 
Williamsport to Falling Waters, and an attack was awaited 
during that and the succeeding day. This did not take place, 
though the two armies were in close proximitj'^, the enemy 
being occupied in fortifying his own lines. Our preparations 
being completed, and the river, though still deep, being pro- 
nounced fordable, the array commenced to withdraw to the 
south side on the night of the 13th. The enemy offered no 
serious interruption, and the movement was attended with no 
loss of material, except a few disabled wagons and two pieces 
of artillery, which the horses were unable to m*ove through the 
deep mud. 

The following day the army marched to Bunker Hill, in the 
vicinity of which it encamped for several days. It subse- 
quently crossed the Blue Ridge, and took position south of the 
■Rappahannock. 

Any comment on Gettysburg must necessarily be a tantaliz- 
ing one for'the South. The Pennsylvania campaign had been 
a series of mishaps. General Lee was disappointed of half of 
his plan, in the first instance, on account of the inability or 
unwillingness of the Richmond authorities to assemble an 
army at Culpepper Court-house under General Beauregard, so 
as to distract the enemy and divide his force by a demonstra- 
tion upon Washington. Johnston was calling for reinforce- 
ments in Mississippi ; Bragg was threatened with attack ; 
Beauregard's whole force was reported to be necessary to 
cover his line on the sea-coast ; and the force in Richmond 
and in North Carolina was very small. Yet with what force 
Lee had, his campaign proposed great things — tlie destruction 
of his adversary, which would have uncovered the Middle and 
Eastern States of the North ; for, behind Meade's array, there 
was nothing but militia mobs and home-guards incapable of 
making any resistance to an army of veterans. It was in 



behind under the circumstailces I have described. The- number of stragglers thus 
lost, I am unable to state with accuracy, but it is greatly exaggerated in the despatch 
referred to. 

I am, with great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

li. E. Lee, General. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 39 

anticipation of this great stake that Richmond was on the 
tiptoe of expectation. For once in the Confederate capital 
gold found no j)urchaser8, prices declined, speculation Mas at 
its wits' end, and men consulted their interests as if on the eve 
of peace. 

The recoil at Gettysburg was fatal, perhajjs, not necessarily, 
but by the course of events, to General Lee's campaign ; and 
the return of his army to its defensive lines in Virginia was 
justly regarded in the South as a reverse in the general for- 
tunes of the contest. Yet the immediate resiilts of the battle 
of Gettysburg must be declared to have been to a great extent 
negative. The Confederates did not gain a victory, neither did 
the enemy. The general story of the contest is simple. Lee 
had been unable to prevent the enemy from taking the high- 
lands, many of them with very steep declivities, and nearly a 
mile in slope. The battle M^as an effort of the Confederates to 
take those heights. The right flank, the left flank, the centre, 
were successively the aim of determined and concentrated 
assaults. The Yankee lines were broken and driven repeated- 
ly. But inexhaustible reserves and a preponderant artillery, 
advantageously placed, saved him from rout. 

The first news received in Richmond of General Lee's 
retreat was from Yankee sources, which represented his army 
as a disorganized mass of fugitives, unable to cross the Poto- 
mac on account of recent floods, and at the mercy of an 
enemy immensely superior in numbers and flushed with vic- 
tory. A day served to dash the hope of an early peace, and to 
overcloud the horizon of the war. 

A few days brought news from our lines, which exploded 
the falsehoods of the Yankees, and assured the people of the 
South that the engagements of Gettysburg had resulted in 
worsting the enemy, in killing and wounding a number 
exceeding our own, and in capturing a large number of pris- 
oners ; and that the falling back of our army, at least as far as 
Hagerstown, was a movement dictated by general considera- 
tions of strategy and prudence. 

And here it must be confessed that the retreat from Hagers- 
town across the Potomac was an inconsequence and a mystery 
to the intelligent public. Lee's position there was strong ; his 
force was certainly adequate for another battle ; preparations 



40 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

were apparently made for aggressive movements ; and in the 
midst of all came a sudden renouncement of the campaign and 
the retreat into Virginia. The public had its secondary wish 
for the safety of the army. But this did not exclude mortifi- 
cation on the part of those who believed that General Lee had 
abandoned the enemy's territory, not as a consequence of de- 
feat, but from the undue timidity or arrogant disposition of the 
authorities who controlled him. 

But news of an overshadowing calamity, undoubtedly the 
greatest that had yet befallen the South, accompanied that of 
Lee's retreat, and dated a second period of disaster more fright- 
ful than that of Donelson and New Orleans. The same day 
that Lee's repulse was known in Bichmond, came the astound- 
ing intelligence oi the fall of Yickslurg. In twenty-four houi-s 
two calamities changed all the aspects of the war, and brought 
the South from an unequalled exaltation of hope to the very 
brink of despair. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 41 



CHAPTEK II. 

Vicksburg, "the Heroic City." — Its Vnlue to the Confederacy. — An Opportunity 
Lost by Butler. — Lieutenant-general Peuiberton. — A Favorite of President Da- 
vis. — The President's Obstinacy. — Blindness of Peniberton to the Enemy's De- 
signs. — His Telegram to Johnston. — Plan of U. S. Grant.— Its Daring.— The Battle 
OF Port Gibson. — Exposure of General Bowen by Pornberton. — The First Mistake. — 
Pembertou's Disregard of Johnston's Orders.— Grant's advance against Jackson. — 
Johnston's Evacuation of Jackson. — His Appreciation of the Situation. — Urgent Or- 
ders to Pemberton. — A Brilliant Opportunity. — Pemberton's Contumacy and Stupid- 
ity. — His Irretrievable Erjor. — Yankee Outrages in Jackson. — Thk B.\itle of B.^ker's 
Ckkek, &c. — Stevenson's Heroic Fight.— Alleged Dereliction of General Loring. — 
His Division Cut OS in the Retreat. — Demoralization of Pemberton's Troops. — The 
Enemy's Assault on the Big Black. — Shameful Behavior of the Confederates. — A 
Georgia Hero. — Peniberton and the Fugitives. — His Return to Vieksburg. — Recrim- 
inations as to the Disaster of the Big Black. — How Peniberton Was in the Wrong. — 
Johnston Orders the Evacuation of Vieksburg. — Pemberton's Determination to Hold 
It. 

YiCKSBUKG liad already become famous in the history of the 
war, from the cupidity of the enemy and the gaHantry of its 
resistance. The habitual phrase in the Yankee newspapers 
was — '' the three strongholds of the rebellion, Riclunond, 
Yicksburg, and Charleston." The possession of Richmond 
would have given an important eclat to the enemy, and some 
strategic advantages. That of Charleston would have given 
him a strip of sea-coast and an additional barrier to the block- 
ade. Yicksburg was a prize almost as important as Richmond, 
and much more so than Charleston. It was the key of the 
navigation of the Mississippi, and the point of union between 
the positions of the Confederacy on the different sides of this 
river. 

At the time of the fall of ISTew Orleans, the defence of Yicks- 
burg was not even contemplated by the authorities at Rich- 
mond ; and the city was given up for lost by President Davis, 
as appears by an intercepted letter from one of his family. It 
was a characteristic want of appreciation of the situation by 
the Confederate Administration. It is not improbable, that if 
Butler had had the enterprise and genius to direct a land 
attack against Yicksburg, it might have readily fallen, on ac- 



42 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

count of the feeble nature of its defences and the insufficiency 
of its garrison. But the tyrant of Xew Orleans was a man 
utterly destitute of military ability, whose ferocious gen-ius 
was expended in a war upon non-combatants. He let slip the 
golden opportunity which the pre-occupation of Beauregard 
with Halleck gave him to operate upon Yicksburg, and at once 
complete the Yankee victory, which had been gained at the 
mouth of the Mississippi. 

The time the enemy gave for strengthening the defences of 
Vicksburg was improved ; and we have seen in another volume 
how^ it passed comparatively unscathed through one bombard- 
ment ; how it resisted Sherman's expedition of 1S62 ; and how 
it defied the gigantic enterprises of the enemy to encompass it 
with the waters of the Mississippi turned from their channel. 
But, unfortunately, the battle of Corinth had placed its desti- 
nies in the hands of a commander who had not the confidence 
of the arm}^ ; who encountered a positive hostility among the 
people within the limits of his command ; and whose haughty 
manner and military afl'ectation were ill-calculated to win the 
regard of the soldier or reconcile the dislike of the civilian. 

But a short time after the battle referred to. Major-general 
Earl Yau Dorn was removed from command, and Major-gen- 
eral Pemberton was placed in command of the Departmeut of 
Mississippi and East Louisiana, and, in consequence of his be- 
ing outranked by both General Yan Dorn and General Lovell, 
was soon after appointed a Lieutenant-general. He was raised 
by a single stroke of President Davis's patronage from the ob- 
scurity of a major to the position of a lieutenant-general. He 
had never been on a battle-field in the war, and his reputation 
as a C(,>mmander was simply nothing. He was entirely the 
creature of the private and personal prejudices of President 
Davis. Never was an appointment of this president more self- 
willed in its temper and more unfortunate in its consequences. 
It might have been supposed that the fact that Pemberton did 
not command the confidence of his troops or of any considera- 
ble portion of the public would, of itself, have suggested to the 
President the prudence of a change of commanders, and dis- 
suaded him from his obstinate preference of a favorite. But 
it had none of this efl^'ect. The Legislature of Mississippi 
solicited the removal of Pemberton. Private delegations from 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 43 

Congress entreated the President to forego Ins personal preju- 
dices and defer to the public wish. But Mr. Davis h:ul that 
conceit of opinion which opposition readily contirnis ; and the 
effect of these remonstrances was only to increase his obstinacy 
and intensify his fondness for his favorite. To some of them 
he replied that Pemberton was '• a great military genins," not 
appreciated by the public, and destined on proper occasion to 
astonish it. 

CJeneral Pemberton took command amid the suppressed 
murmurs of a people to whom he was singularly unwelcome. 
The first evidence of liis want of comprehension was his ignor- 
ance and bewiklerment as to the enemy's designs. AVe have 
referred to the failure of the canal projects. The enemy, after 
long-continued and streneous efforts to reach tlie right flank of 
Yicksburg, by forcing a passage through the upper Yazoo 
river, finally relinquished his design, and on the nights of the 
4th and 5th of April, re-embarked his troops, and before day- 
light was in rapid retreat. About the same time a heavy force 
of the enemy, which had been collected at Baton Pouge, was 
mostly withdrawn and transferred to western Louisiana, leav- 
ing but one division to occupy that place. 

So blind was Pemberton to the designs of the enemy, that 
for m-any weeks he continued to believe that the object of the 
movements of Ulysses S. Grant — the last commander sent from/ 
"Washington to contest the prize of the Mississippi — was not/ 
Yicksburg, but Bragg's army in Tennessee. In this delusion, 
and the self-complacent humor it inspired, he telegraphed to 
General Johnston, on the 13th of April: "I am satisfied that 
Eosecrans will be reinforced from Grant's army. Shall I 
order troops to Tullahoma?" The aberration was soon dis- 
pelled. A few days after this despatch, information obtained 
from Memphis indicated that Grant's retrogade movement 
was a ruse ; and thus suddenly Pemberton was called upon to 
prepare for one of the most extraordinary and audacious games 
that the enemy had yet attempted in this war. 

"We know that it is customary to depreciate an adversary in 
war, by naming his enterprise as desperation, and entitling his 
success as luck. "We shall not treat with such injustice the 
enemy's campaign in Mississippi. In daring, in celeiity of 
movement, and in the vigor and decision of its steps it was the 



44 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE WAR. 

most remarkable of the war. The phin of Grant was, in brief, . 
nothing else than to gain firm ground on one of the Confederate 
flanks, which, to be done, involved a march of about one hun- 
dred and fifty miles, through a hostile country, and in which 
communication with the base of supplies was liable at any 
moment to be permanently interrupted. In addition, a resist- 
ance to his advance could be anticipated, of whose magnitude 
nothing was certainly known, and which, for aught he knew, 
might at any time prove great enough to annihilate his entire 
army. 

The plan involved the enterprise of running a fleet of trans- 
ports past the batteries, crossing the troops from the Louisiana 
shore, below Yicksburg, to Mississippi, and then marching the 
army, by the way of Jackson, through the heart of the Con- 
federacy, so to speak, to the rear of Vicksburg. On the night 
of the 22d of April, the first demonstration was made, in ac- 
cordance with the newly-formed plan, by the running past our 
batteries of three gunboats and seven transports. 

Grand Gulf is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi 
river, immediately below the rnouth of the Big Black river. 
It was not selected as a position for land-defence, but for the 
protection of the mouth of the Big Black, and also as a pre- 
cautionary measure against the passage of transports, should 
the canal before referred to prove a success, which then seemed 
highly probable. The necessary works were constructed under 
the direction of Brigadier-general Bowen, to defend the bat- 
teries against an assault from the river front, and against a di- 
rect attack from or across Big Black. 



THE BATTLE OF PORT GIBSON. 

The enemy having succeeded in getting his transports past 
Yicksburg, an attack on Grand Gulf was anticipated. Twelve 
miles below this, at the mouth of the Bayou Pierre, is Brains- 
barg, and at this point the enemy landed in heavy force, on 
the 30th of April, and prepared for an advance movement. 

As soon as General Bowen received information of the land- 
ing of the enemy, he crossed Bayou Pierre, and advanced 
towards Port Gibson, situated several miles south-east of Grand 



THE THIED TEAE OF THE WAR. 45 

Gulf. In tlie vicinity of this place General Bowen met the 
enemy advancing in full force, and immediately prepared for 
battle, having previously telegraphed to Yicksburg for rein- 
forcements. He was left with a few thousand men to confront 
an overwhelming force of the enemy, as Pemberton had in- 
sisted upon putting the Big Black between the enemy and the 
bulk of his own forces, which he declared were necessary to 
cover Yicksburg. 

Early on the morning of the 1st of May, General Green, who 
had been sent out on the Brainsburg road with about a thou- 
sand men, encountered the enemy. He was joined by General 
Tracy, with not more than fifteen hundred men. The enemy's 
attack was sustained with great bravery until between nine 
and ten o'clock, when, overwhelmed by numbers and flanked 
on the right and left. General Green had to fall back. Courier 
after courier had been sent for General Baldwin, who was on 
the way with some reinforcements, but his troops were so ut- 
terly exhausted that he could not get up in time to prevent 
this. Just as the retreat was taking place General Baldwin 
arrived, and was ordered to form a new line about one mile in 
rear of General Green's first position. General Baldwin had 
no artillery, and that ordered up from Grand Gulf had not 
arrived. Colonel Cockrell, with three Missouri regiments came 
up soon after. General Bowen now had all the force at his 
command on the field, excepting three regiments and two 
battalions, which occupied positions which he could not re- 
move them from until the last moment. He ordered them up 
about one o'clock, but only one of them arrived in time to 
cover the retreat and burn the bridges. Between twelve and 
one o'clock General Bowen attempted, with two of Colonel 
Cockrell's regiments, to turn the enemy's right flank, and 
nearly succeeded. The enemy formed three brigades in front 
of a battery, to receive our charge. The first was routed, the 
second wavered, but the third stood firm, and after a long and 
desperate contest, our troops had to give up the attempt. It is 
probable, however, that this attack saved the right from being 
overwhelmed, and kept the enemy back until nearly sunset. 
All day long the fight raged fiercely, our men everywhere 
maintaining their ground. Just before sunset a desperate at- 
tack was made by the enemy, they having again received fresh 



46 ' THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

troops. Our right was forced to give ground, and General Bowen 
was reluctantly compelled to fall back. The order was given and 
executed without confusion. The enemj attempted no pursuit. 

Though unsuccessful, the bloody encounter in front of Port 
Gibson nobly illustrated the valor and constancy of our troops, 
and shed additional lustre upon the Confederate arms. In his 
official report, General Bowen declared that the enemy's force 
engaged exceeded twenty thousand, while his own did not 
number over fifty-five hundred. 

It was the first mistake with which Pemberton had opened 
his chapter of disasters. On the 28th of April he ascertained 
that the enemy was landing troops at Hard Times, on the west 
bank of the river ; he became satisfied that neither the front 
nor right (north) of Vicksburg would be attacked, and he 
turned his attention to the left (south) of Yicksburg ; but un- 
fortunately he did not concentrate "aZZ" his troops on that 
side of Yicksburg. On the 29th of April he telegraphed Gen- 
eral Johnston that the enemy were at Plard Times, and " can 
cross to Brainsburg ;" and on the 1st of May that " a furious 
battle has been going on all day below Port Gibson," On the 
2d of May General Johnston replied : " If General Grant 
crosses unite all your troops to beat him. Success will give 
back what was abandoned to win it." Unfortunately it was not 
done. His explanation why it was not done, was, that to have 
marched an army across Big Black of sufficient strength to 
warrant a reasonable hope of successfully encountering his very 
superior forces, would have stripped Vicksburg and its essen- 
tially flank defences of their garrisons, and the city itself might 
have fallen an easy prey into the eager hands of the enemy. 
His apprehensions for the safety of Yicksburg were morbid. 
While he was gazing at Yicksburg, Grant was turning towards 
Jackson. 

The battle of Port Gibson won. Grant pushed his columns 
directly towards Jackson. Pemberton's want of cavalry did 
not permit the interruption of Grant's communications, and 
he moved forward unmolested to Clinton. General Pember- 
ton anticipated " a raid on Jackson," and ordered the re^noval 
of " the staff department and all valuable stores to the east ;" 
but he regarded Edwards' Depot and the Big Black Bridge as 
the objects of Grant's movement to the eastward. 



THE THIRD TKAR OF THE WAR. 47 

The movement of the enemy was one of extreme peril. On 
one flank was General Joseph E. Johnston with a force whose 
strengtli was nnknown to General Grant ; and on the other was 
Lieutenant-general Pemberton. To have remained at Grand 
Gulf would have ruined the Federal army, and, with this know- 
ledge, Grant determined to make certain movements on the 
west bank of the Big Black, while he marched rapidly on Jack- 
son, Mississippi, with his main force. The object of the Yankee 
commander was to make sure of no enemy being in his rear 
when he marched on Yicksbui-g. 

By glancing at a map it will be seen that the country in- 
cluded between Grand Gulf, Jackson and Big Black river, at 
the railroad crossing, forms a triangle. In moving forward, 
Grant's forces kept upon the line which leads from Grand Gulf 
to Jackson ; but, instead of all going to Jackson, as might have 
been expected, the advance only continued toward that point, 
while the remainder of the army turned off to the left, at in- 
tervals, and proceeded along lines which converged until they 
nret in the angle of the triangle located at the Big Black rail- 
road crossing. 

Many persons have doubtless been astonished at the ease 
with which Grant's forces advanced upon and took possession 
of Jackson. Its importance as a railroad centre and a depot 
for Confederate supplies warranted the anticipation that the 
place would be vigorously defended and only surrendered in 
the last extremity. 

Unfortunately such a resistance could not be made. General 
Johnston had arrived too late to prepare a defence of the capital 
of Mississippi. On reaching Jackson, on the night of the 13th 
of May, he found there but two brigades numbering not more 
than six thousand men ; and, with the utmost that could be 
relied upon from the reinforcements on the way, he could not 
expect to confront the enemy with more than eleven thousand 
men. But he comprehended the situation with instant and 
decisive sagacity. He ascertained that General Pemberton's 
forces, except the garrison of Port Hudson (five thousand) and 
of Yicksburg, were at Edwards' Depot — the general's head- 
quarter's at Bovina ; and that four divisions of the enemy, 
under Sherman, occupied Clinton, ten miles west of Jackson, 
between Edwards' Depot and ourselves. 



4S THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAE. 

Not a moment was to be lost. A despatch was hurried to 
Pemberton on tlie same night (13th), informing him of John- 
ston's arrival, and of the occupation of Clinton by a portion of 
Grant's armj, urging the imp(.)rtance of re-establishing com- 
munications, and ordering him to come up, if practicable, on 
Sherman's rear at once, and adding, " to beat such a detach- 
ment would be of immense value." " The troops here," wrote 
Johnston, " could co-operate. All the strength you can quickly 
assemble should be brought. Time is all-important." 

It appears from General Pemberton's official report that he 
had preconceived a plan of battle ; that he expected to fight at 
Edwards' Depot; and that he was unwilling to separate him- 
self further from Yicksburg, which he regarded as his base. 
He had the choice of disobeying Johnston's orders, and falling 
back upon his own matured plan, or of obeying them, and 
taking the brilliant hazard of crushing an important detach- 
ment of the enemy. He did neither. He attempted a middle 
course — a compromise between his superior's orders and his 
,own plans, the weak shift and fatal expedient of military in- 
competency. He telegraphed to Johnston, "I comply at once 
with your order." Yet he did not move for twenty-eight hours. 
A council of war had been called, and a majority of officers 
approved the movement indicated by General Johnston, Pem- 
berton opposed it ; but he says, " I did not, however, see fit to 
put my own judgment and opinion so far in opposition as to 
prevent a movement altogether." So he determined upon an 
advance, not to risk an attack on Sherman, but, as he says, to cut 
the enemy's communications. He abandoned his own former 
plans ; he disobeyed Johnston's order, and invented a compro- 
mise equally reprehensible for the vacillation of his purpose 
and the equivocation of his despatch. He moved, not on Sher- 
man's rear at Clinton, but in another direction toward Ray- 
mond. The purpose of General Johnston's order was to unite 
the two armies and attack a detachment of the enemy. The 
result of General Pemberton's movement towards Raymond 
was to prevent this union, and to widen the distance between 
the two armies. 

In a moral view, it is difficult to find any term but that of 
the harshest censure for this trifling compromise of General 
Pemberton between the orders of his superior and the prefer- 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 49 

ences of liis own mind. In a military view it was equally re- 
prehensible. When the several corps of the enemy were 
separated into two or more distinct columns, separated by 
twelve or iSfteen miles, it would be naturally supposed that the 
true opportunity of Pembertou would have been to strike at 
one separately, rather than to wait until all the enemy's forces 
concentrated, and attacked him on his uncertain march. 

The error was irretrievable. While General Pemberton was 
in " council of war," on the 14th, the enemy, from Clinton and 
Raymond, marched on Jackson and compelled its evacuation. 
Had General Pemberton promptly obeyed General Johnston's 
order, and boldly marched on Clinton, the enemy could not 
have marched to Jackson, as that would have been to facilitate 
the union of Johnston and Pemberton and to have encountered 
their concentrated armies. The audacity of Johnsl^on's order, 
if executed, might have reversed the fate of Vicksburg. The 
vacillation of General Pemberton, and his loss of a day and a 
half, caused the evacuation of Jackson, and opened the way 
to Yicksburg. 

The occupation of Jackson was the occasion of the usual 
scenes of Yankee outrage. The watchword of McPherson's 
corps, which first entered it, was plunder. The negroes were 
invited to assist and share in the pillage. Supposing that the 
year of jubilee had finally come, the blacks determined to en- 
joy it, and, with this end in view, they stole everything they 
could carry oflf. "Nothing," says a Yankee spectator, " came 
amiss to these rejoicing Africans ; they went around the streets 
displaying aggregate miles of double-rowed ivory, and bend- 
ing under a monstrous load of French mirrors, boots, shoes, 
pieces of calico, wash-stands and towels, hoop-skirts, bags of 
tobacco, parasols, umbrellas, and fifty other articles equally 
incongruous." 

McPherson left Jackson on the afternoon of the 15th, and, 
in the morning of the next day, Sherman's corps took up its 
line — the whole moving westward along the south side of the 
railroad to Vicksburg. As the enemy left Jackson it resem- 
bled more the infernal regions than the abode of civilization. 
Vast volumes of smoke lay over it, through which, here and 
there, rolled fiercely up great mountains of flame, that made 
infernal music over their work of destruction. The Confederate 

4 



50 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

State-house — a large new wooden building — the Penitentiary, 
several private house and several government buildings were 
all in flames. It was the first step of that catalogue of horrors 
of invasion in which Mississippi was to rival Virginia, and the 
Big Black was to be associated with the Potomac in the ghastly 
romances of ruin and desolation. 

We return to Pemberton and his ill-starred march. On the 
15th, at the head of a column of seventeen thousand men, he 
had taken the direction of Raymond. On the morning of the 
16th, at about six and a half o'clock, he ascertained that his 
pickets were skirmishing with the enemy on the Raymond 
road, some distance in his front. At the same moment a cour- 
rier arrived and handed him a despatch from General Johnston 
announcing the evacuation of Jackson, and indicating that the 
only mear|,s by which a union could now be effected between 
the two forces was that Pemberton should move directly to 
Clinton, whither Johnston was retiring. The order of counter- 
march was given by Pemberton. It was too late. Just as 
this reverse movement commenced, the enemy drove in his 
cavalry pickets, and opened with artillery, at long range, on 
the head of his column on the Raymond road. The demon- 
strations of the enemy soon becoming more serious, orders 
were sent by General Pemberton to the division commanders 
to form in line of battle on the cross-road from the Clinton to 
the Raj'^mond road — Loring on the right, Bowen in the centre, 
and Stevenson on the left. The enemy had forced the Con- 
federates to give battle on the ground of his own selection, 
under the disadvantages of inferior numbers and in circum- 
stances which had all the moral effect of a surprise. 



THE BATTLE OF BAKER S CREEK, ETC. 

But the ground itself was not unfavorable to our troops. 
The line of battle was quickly formed, in a bend of what is 
known as Baker's creek, without any interference on the part 
of the enemy ; the position selected was naturally a strong one, 
and all approaches from the front well covered. The enemy 
made his first demonstration on our right, but, after a lively 
artillery duel for an hour or more, this attack was relinquished 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAK. 61 

and a large force was thrown against our left, where elcirmish- 
ing became heavy about ten o'clock, and the battle began in 
earnest along Stevenson's entire front about noon. 

At this time Major-general Loring was ordered to move for- 
ward, and crush the enemy in his front, and General Bowen 
was directed to co-operate with him in the movement. The 
movement was not made by Loring. He replied that the 
enemy was too strongly posted to be attacked, but that he 
would avail himself of the first opportunity of successful as- 
sault. The opportunity never came to him. 

Stevenson's troops sustained the heavy and repeated attacks 
of the enemy. Six thousand, five hundred men held in check 
four divisions of the enemy, numbering, from his own state- 
ment, twenty-five thousand men. Such endurance has its 
limits. The only reinforcements that came to the relief of 
these devoted men were two brigades of Bowen, among them 
Cockrell's gallant Missourians. This was about half-past two 
o'clock. The combined charge of these forces for a moment 
turned the tide of battle. But the enemy still continued to 
move troops from his left to his right, thus increasing his 
vastly superior forces against Stevenson's and Bowen's divis- 
ions. Again orders were despatched to General Loring to 
move to the left as rapidly as possible leaving force enough 
only to cover the bridge and ford at Baker's Creek. He did 
not come. He seems still to have been engaged with the 
movements of the enemy in his front, and to have supposed 
that they were endeavoring to flank him. 

In the mean time the contest raged along Stevenson's lines, 
the enemy continuing his line movement to our left. Here 
were displays of gallantry, which, unable to retrieve the disas- 
ter, adorned it with devotion. Here fell the gallant Captain 
Ridley, commanding a battery, refusing to leave his guns, 
single-handed and alone fighting until he fell, pierced with six 
shots, receiving, even from his enemies, the highest tribute of 
admiration. ^Nothing could protect the artillery horses from 
the deadly fire of the enemy ; almost all were killed, and 
along the whole line, the pieces, though fought with despera- 
tion, on the part of both ofl[icers and men, almost all fell into 
the hands of the enemy. In this manner the guns of Corput's 
and Johnston's batteries, and Waddell's section, were lost. 



,*)2 THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Double shotted, they were tired until, in many instances, 
swarms of the enemy were in amongst them. Officers and 
men stood by them to the very latest moment that they could 
be served. 

About 5 o'clock p. m., a portion of Stevenson's division broke 
and fell back in disorder. General Pemberton rode up to 
Stevenson and told him that he had repeatedly ordered two 
brigades of Loring to his assistance. The brave commander, 
who had fought tlie enemy since morning, replied that the re- 
lief would be too late and that he could no longer hold the 
field. " Finding," says General Pemberton, " that the enemy's 
vastly superior numbers were pressing all my forces engaged 
steadily back into old fields, where all advantages of position 
would be in his favor, I felt it too late to save the day even 
should Brigadier-general Featherstone's brigade of General 
Loring's division come up immediately. I could, however, 
learn nothing of General Loring's whereabouts ; several of my 
stafi" officers were in search of him, but it was not until after 
General Bowen had personally informed me that he could not 
hold his position, and. not until I had ordered the retreat, that 
General Loring, with Featherstone's brigade, moving, as I sub- 
sequently learned, by a country road, which was considerably 
longer than the direct route, reached the position on the left, 
known as Champion's Hill, where he was forming line of bat- 
tle when he received my order to cover the retreat. Had the 
movement in support of the left been promptly made, when 
first ordered, it is not improbable that I might have main- 
tained my position, and it is possible the enemy might have 
been driven back, though his vastly superior and constantly 
increasing numbers would have rendered it necessary to with- 
draw during the night to save my communications with Yicks- 
burg."* 

* In a correspondence wliicli ensued between the Richmond authorities and 
General Pemberton as to the cause of the defeat, the Secretary of War wrote, 
in a letter dated October 1st, 18G3 : " I should be pleased to know if General 
Loring had been ordered to attack before General Cummings' brigade gave 
way ; and whether, in your opinion, had Stevenson's division been promptly 
sustained, the troops with him would have fought with so little tenacity and 
resolution as a portion of them exhibited ? Have you had any explanation of 
the extraordinary failure of General Loring to comply with your reiterated or- 
ders to attack ? And do you feel assured your orders were received by him ? 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 53 

But the disaster of the day was not yet complete. The re- 
treat of the Confederates was by the ford and bridge of Baker's 
Creek. Bowen's division was directed to take position on the 
left bank, and to hold the crossing until Loring's division, 
which was directed to bring up the rear, had effected the pas- 
sage. The intelligence of the approach of Loring was awaited 
in vain. Probably another unfortunate misapprehension had 
occurred. He had covered the retreat with great spirit. It 
was in this part of the contest that Brigadier-general Lloyd 
Tilghman, one of the bravest officers in the Confederate army, 
fell, pierced through his manly breast with a fragment of a 
shell. He was serving with his own hands a twelve-pound 
howitzer, trying to dislodge a piece which was annoying the 
retreat. It is said that General Loring was under the impres- 
sion that a force of the enemy had got in the rear of the 
bridge, and that Stevenson had been compelled to continue his 
retreat in the direction of Edwards' Depot. " At any rate, he 
resolved to make his retreat through the east, turn Jackson, 
and effect a junction with the forces of General Johnston, then 
supposed to be near Canton. He succeeded, but with the loss 
of his artillery. 

Pemberton had retired from the battle-field with a demoral- 
ized army. It had lost nearly all of its artillery ; it was weak- 
ened by the absence of General Loring's division ; it had 
already shown the fatal sign of straggling ; and, worse than 
all, it had conceived a distrust of its commander, who had car- 
ried his troops by a vague and wandering march on the very 
front of the concentrated forces of the enemy. 

On Sunday morning, the 17th of May, the enemy advanced 
in force against the works erected on the Big Black. The 
river, where it is crossed by the railroad bridge, makes a bend 
somewhat in the shape of a horse-shoe. Across this horse-shoe, 

His conduct, unless explained by some misapprehension, is incomprehensible 
to me." 

To this General Pemberton replied, on the 10th of November: "General 
Loring had been ordered to attack before General Cummings' brigade gave way, 
and the order had been again and again repeated ; and, in my opinion, ' had 
Stevenson's division been promptly sustained,' his troops would have deported 
themselves gallantly and creditably. I have received no explanation of ' the 
extraordinary failure of General Loring to comply with my reiterated orders to 
attaok ;' and I do feel ' assured that my orders were received by him. ' " 



54 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

at its narrowest part, a line of rifle-pits had been constructed, 
making an excellent cover for infantry, and, at proper inter- 
vals, dispositions were made for Held artillery. The line of 
pits ran nearly north and south, and was about a mile in length. 
!North of, and for a considerable distance south of the railroad, 
and of a dirt-road to Edwards' Depot, nearly parallel with it 
extended a bayou, which, in itself, opposed a serious obstacle 
to an assault upon the pits. This line abutted north on the 
river, and south upon a cypress brake, which spread jtself 
nearly to the bank of the river. In addition to the railroad 
bridge, which had been floored for the passage over of artillery 
and wagons, a steamer, from which the machinery had been 
taken, was converted into a bridge, by placing her fore-and- 
aft across the river. Between the works and the bridge, about 
three-quarters of a mile, the country was open, being either 
clear or cultivated fields, aflording no cover should the troops 
be drawn from the trenches. East and north of the railroad, 
the country over which the enemy must necessarily pass was 
similar to those above described ; but north of the' railroad, 
and about three hundred yards in front of the rifle-pits, a 
copse of wood extended from the road to the river. Our line 
was manned on the right by the gallant Cockrell's Missouri 
brigade, the extreme left by Brigadier- general Green's Missouri 
and Arkansas men, both of Bowen's division, and the centre 
by Brigadier-general Yaughan's brigade of east Tennesseeans, 
in all about four thousand men, as many as could be advan- 
tageously employed in defending the line with about twenty 
pieces of field artillery. • 

The position was one of extraordinary strength, yet tliis 
position was abandoned by our troops, almost without a strug- 
gle, and with the loss of nearly all that remained of our artil- 
lery. 

It would be well if this page could be omitted from our mar- 
tial records, and its dishonor spared. But it is easily told, and 
the charitable reader is already prepared for it. Early in the 
morning the enemy opened his artillery at long range, and 
very soon pressed forward, with infantry, into the copse oi 
wood north of the railroad ; about the same time he opened on 
Colonel Cockrell's position with two batteries, and advanced a 
line of skirmishers, throwing forward a column of infantry, 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 55 

which was quickly driven back by our batteries. Pretty 
heavy skirmishing was, for awhile, kept up along our whole 
line, but presently the enemy, who had massed a large force 
in the woods immediately north of the railroad, advanced at a 
run with loud cheers. Our troops in their front did not 
remain to receive them, but broke and fled precipitately. 

The retreat was disgraceful. It soon became a matter of 
sauve qui pent. A strong position, with an ample force of 
infantry and artillery to hold it, was shamefully abandoned, 
almost. without resistance. Between the troops occupying the 
centre and the enemy there was an almost impassable bayou. 
They fled before the enemy had reached that obstacle. In 
this precipitate retreat but little order was observed, the object 
with all being to reach the bridge as rapidly as possible. 
Many were unable to do so, but efiected their escape by swim- 
ming the river ; some were drowned in the attempt. A con- 
siderable number, unable to swim, and others too timid to 
expose themselves to the Are of the enemy by an effort to 
escape, remained in the trenches, and were made prisoners. 
A captain, who disgraced the Confederate uniform, laid down 
in the rifle-pits, and was captured by the enemy. Another 
behaved more bravely. Captain Osborne, of the Thirty-sixth 
Georgia, took his place just behind his line, and, with drawn 
revolver, swore he would shoot the first uuwounded man who 
turned his back. The consequence was that his company, and 
the fragment of another, were soon left alone in the field where 
the steady line of the enemy were advancing under the smoke 
of their own murderous fire. Completely flanked, and in peril 
of capture, he gave the order to " march a retreat," but still 
with revolver and voice checking any unwise or unbecoming 
haste. When satisfied with his distance, he halted his com- 
pany, and dressed the line ; just then General Gumming rode 
up, and, taking off his hat, said : " Captain, I compliment 
you upon having the only organized body of men on the 
field." 

Lieutenant-general Pemberton rode up and down the lines 
trying to rally the men ; but his courage was not well re- 
warded. One of his staff threatened to shoot a runaway with 
his pistol. " Bigger guns than that, back there," said the sol- 
dier, and went on. 



56 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

General .?eraberton told a fellow to stop and to go back, 
and, to give force to the order, said : "I am Lieutenant-general 
Pemberton, commanding this department." The fellow looked 
up and said, " You are !" — and proceeded the same way. 

Who could have recognized in the flying mob the same men 
whose heroic defence of Yicksburg had attracted the attention 
and won the applause of the world ! 

About ten o'clock, Sunday night, the main body of Pem- 
berton's army entered Yicksburg, A scene of terror ensued. 
Many planters living near the city with their families, aban- 
doned their homes and entered our lines with the Confederate 
forces. The stillness of the Sabbath night was broken iii upon, 
and an uproar in which the blasphemous oath of the soldier 
and the cry of the child mingled, heightened the effect of a 
scene which the pen cannot depict. There were many gentle 
women and tender children, torn from their homes by the ad- 
vance of a ruthless foe and compelled to fly to our lines for 
protection ; and mixed up with them, in one vast crowd, were 
the gallant men who had left Yicksburg three short weeks 
befoie in all the pride and confidence of a just cause, and return- 
ing to it under the shame of a defeat, and with the panic of a 
mob. 

It is not necessary to enter at length into the recrimination 
which ensued between Pemberton and Johnston, as to the 
memorable disaster of the Big Black. It was argued on Pem- 
berton's side that had it not been for Johnston's order to move 
on the enemy at Canton, he never would have advanced in 
any direction beyond the Big Black. To this the reply of 
General Johnston was neat and conclusive. "It was," he 
said, " a new military principle that when an oflScer disobeys 
a positive order of his superior, that superior becomes respon- 
sible for any measure his subordinate may choose to substitute 
for that ordered." 

Pemberton had neither obeyed the order referred to, nor 
fallen back upon his original plan ; he had supplanted both by 
a new movement which concluded in one of the worst disas- 
ters of the war. The order of the 13th directed truly a " haz- 
ardous movement," but it was nevertheless a great conception 
— it was one of those bold and audacious moves that charac- 
terize military genius, and is a practical illustration of Napo- 



THE THIRD YEAJS OF THE WAK. 57 

leon's maxim, that " a great captain supplies all deficiencies by 
his courage, and marches boldly to meet the attack." It was 
a wise order, for it tended to concentration and the union of 
both detachments of his army ; and, if promptly and boldly 
executed, might have resulted in» saving Vicksburg. For if 
Sherman had been defeated between Clinton and Jackson, 
Grant could not have invested Vicksburg. 

As it was, the fall of Vicksburg had become but a question 
of time. General Johnston was convinced of the iinpossibility 
of collecting a sufficient force to break the investment of the 
city, should it be completed. He appreciated the difficulty of 
extricating the garrison. It was with this foresight that, on 
learning that Pemberton had been driven from the Big Black, 
he ordered the evacuation of Vlchshurg. He wrote: "If 
Ilaynes' Bluff be untenable, Vicksburg is of no value and 
cannot be held. If, therefore, you are invested in Vicksburg, 
you must ultimately surrender. Under such circumstances, 
instead of losing both troops and place, you must, if possible, 
save the troops. If it is not too late, evacuate Vicksburg and 
its dependencies, and march to the northeast." 

It was a grave order. It commanded the surrender of valua- 
ble stores and munitions of war ; the surrender of the Mississippi 
river ; and the severance of the Confederacy. But Johnston 
had presented to his mind a given alternative: that of the loss 
of Vicksburg, and that of the loss of Vicksburg and an army 
of twenty-five thousand men, and he had the nerve to accept 
with promptness the lesser of two evils. It required the great- 
est moral courage to come to such a conclusion ; for so de- 
luded were the Confederate people as to the safety of Vicks- 
burg, and so firmly persuaded were they that Grant was a 
desperate fool " who would butt his brains out against the 
stockades of Vicksburg," that had this order of Johnston been 
known at the time it would have produced from one end of 
the Confederacy to the other an outbreak of indignation, and 
have probably made him the victim of an incorrigible popular 
passion and ignorance. 

Pemberton received the order with dismay ; he called a coun- 
cil of war. It was unanimous for its rejection ; but the reas- 
on given was peculiar and but little creditable. It was de- 
cided that it was impossible to withdraw the army with such 



58 THE THIED YEAR OF THE WAB. 

morale and material as to be of future service to the Confeder- 
acy ; and this, although there were eight thousand fresh troops 
in Vieksburg. Pemberton replied : " I have decided to hold 
Yicksburg as long as possible, with the firm hope that the 
Government may yet be able to assist me in keeping this ob- 
struction to the enemy's free navigation of the Mississippi 
river. I still conceive it to be the most important point in the 
Confederacy." While the council of war was assembled, the 
guns of the enemy opened on the works. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 69 



CHAPTER III. 

The Defences of Vicksburg.— Pemberton's Force.— His Troops Eeinspirited. — A 
Memorable Appeal. — Grant's Assault on the Works. — Confidence of the Yankees. — 
Their Kepulse and Losses. — Commencement of Siege Operations. — Confidence in 
Richmond. — Johnston's Secret Anticipation of the Fall of Vicksburg. — His Alleged 
Inability to Avert it. — Critical Condition of the Confederate Annies in Numbers. — 
Secret Correspondence of Eichmond Officials. — Mr. Seddon's Bait of Flattery. — Suf- 
ferings of the Garrison of Vicksburg. — Johnston's Attempt to Extricate them. — Pro- 
posed Diversion in the Trans-Mississippi. — Its Failure. — A Message from Pemberton. 
A Gleam of Hope. — An Important Dispatch Miscarries. — The Garrison Unable to 
Fight Their Way Out. — But Their Condition not Extreme. — Pemberton's Surrender 
ou the Fourth of July.— Surprise in Eichmond — Mendacity of the Telegraph. — The 
Story of the Kats and Mules. — Pemberton's Statement as to his Supplies. — His Ex- 
planation as to the Day of Surrender. — The last Incident of Humiliation. — Behavior 
of the Vicksburg Population. — A Rival of "The Beast." — Appearance and Manners 
of the City under Yankee Rule. — Consequences of the Fall of Vicksburg. — The Yan- 
kee- Eeocoupation OF Jackson. — Johnston's Second Evacuation. — The Enemy's Eav- 
ages in Mississippi. — How they Compared with Lee's Civilities in Pennsylvania. — 
The Fall of Port Hudson, &c. — Enemy's Capture of Yazoo City. — The Battle 
OF Helena. — The Tkans-Mississippi. — Eepulse of the Confederates. — Abandonment 
of Little Rock. — The Trials and Sufferings of the Trans-Mississippi Department. — 
Hindman's Memorable Rule. — Military Autocracy. — The Generous and Heroic Spirit 
of the Trans-Mississippi. 

The line of defence around the city of Yicksburg consisted 
of a system of detached works (redans, lunettes, and redoubts) 
on the prominent and commanding points, with the usual pro- 
file of raised field works, connected, in most cases, by rifle-pits. 
The strength of the city towards the land was equally as strong 
as on the river side. The country was broken, to a degree 
afibrding excellent defensive positions. In addition to this, 
the ravines intervening the ridges and knolls, which the Con- 
federates had fortified, were covered with a tangled growth of 
cane, wild grape, &c., making it impossible for the enemy to 
move his troops in well-dressed lines. 

To man the entire line of fortifications, General Pemberton 
was able to bring into the trenches about eighteen thousand 
five hundred muskets ; but it was absolutely necessary to keep 
a reserve always ready to reinforce any point heavily threat- 
ened. It became indispensable, therefore, to reduce the num- 
ber in the trenches to the minimum capable of holding them 



60 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

until a reserve could come to their aid. It was also necessary 
that tlie reserve should be composed of troops among the 
best and most reliable. Accordingly, Boweu's division (about 
tAventy-four hundred) and some otlier forces were designated 
for that purpose, reducing the forces in the trenches to little 
over fifteen thousand five hundred men. 

Fortunately, the army of Vicksburg had speedily recovered 
from its demoralization, reassured, as the troops were, of a 
prospect of Johnston's co-operation, and inspired by a remark- 
able appeal from Pemberton. Tliis unfortunate commander 
appeased the clamor against himself by an apparently noble 
candor and memorable words of heroism. He said that it had 
been declared that he would sell Yicksburg, and exhorted his 
soldiers to witness the price at which he would sell it, for it 
would not be less than his own life, and that of every man in 
his command. Those words deserve to be commemorated in 
relation to the sequel. 

The stirring words of Pemberton were circulated through 
the Confederacy, and satisfied the public that either Yicksburg 
was safe, or that the catastrophe would be glorious. They 
called to mind Le3^den and Genoa, Londonderry and Saragossa, 
and the people of the Confederacy expected that a name not 
less glorious would be added to the list of cities made immortal 
by heroism, endurance, suffering, and, as they hoped, triumph. 
Much of this elation, it is true, was from ignorance of the true 
situation ; but even the intelligent refused to entertain a sequel 
so humiliating and disastrous to the South as that which was 
to ensue. 

The troops of Grant were flushed Avith victory, and had pro- 
posed to finish their work by a single assault. The events of 
the 19th, 20th, and 21st of May, wearied those who imagined 
that they saw in their grasp the palm of the Mississippi. So 
fully assured were they of victory, that they postponed it from 
day to day. To storm the works was to take Vicksburg, in 
their opinion, and when it was known on the morning of the 
21st, that at ten o'clock next morning the whole line of Con- 
federate works would be assaulted, the credulous and vain 
enemy accounted success so certain, that it was already given 
to the wings of the telegraph. 

On the 22d, the fire from tlie enemy's artillery and sharp- 



THE THIKD YEAK OF THE WAE. 61 

shooters in the rear was heavy and incessant until noon, when 
his gunboats opened upon the city, while a determined assault 
was made along Moore's, Hebert's, and Lee's lines. At about 
cue o'clock p. M., a heavy force moved out to the assault on the 
lines of General Lee, making a gallant charge. They were 
allowed to approach unmolested to within good musket range, 
when every available gun was opened upon them with grape 
and canister, and the men, rising in the trenches, poured into 
their ranks volley after volley, with so deadly an eifect that, 
leaving the ground literally covered in some places with their 
dead and wounded, they precipitately retreated. The angle 
of one of our redoubts having been breached by their artillery 
previous to the assault, when the repulse occurred, a party of 
about sixty of the enemy, under the command of a Lieutenant- 
colonel, made a rush, succeeded in effecting a lodgment in the 
ditch at the foot of the redoubt, and planted two colors on the 
parapet. It was of vital importance to drive them out, and, 
upon a call for volunteers for that purpose, two companies of 
Waul's Texas legion, commanded respectively by Captain 
Bradley and Lieutenant Ilogue, accompanied by the gallant 
and chivalrous Colonel E, W. Pettus, of the Twentieth Ala- 
bama regiment, musket in hand, promptly ])resented them- 
selves for the hazardous service. The preparations were quiet- 
ly and quickly made, but the enemy seemed at once to divine 
the purpose, and opened upon the angle a terrific fire of shot, 
shell, and musketry. Undamited, this little band, its chival- 
rous commander at its head, rushed upon the work, and, in 
less time than it requires to describe it, it and the flags were 
in our possession. Preparations were then quickly made for 
the use of our hand-grenades, when the enemy in the ditch, 
being informed of the purpose, immediately surrendered. 

On other parts of our lines the enemy was repulsed, although 
he succeeded in getting a few men into our exterior ditches at 
each point of attack, from which they were, however, driven 
before night. Our entire loss in this successful day was com- 
paratively very small, and might be counted in a few hundreds. 
So accustomed had the population of Yicksburg become to the 
fire and rage of battle, that the circumstance is no less true than 
curious that throughout the day stores in the city were open, 
and M^omen and children walked the streets, as if no missiles 



62 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of death were filling the air and bursting and scattering the 
fragments around. There is no reliable account of the enemy's 
loss this day ; but, in killed and wounded, it was several thou- 
sands. Two thousand had fallen in front of General Forney's 
lines alone,- according to the report of that commander. The 
dead lay before our works, while thousands of wounded men 
were carried off as soon as they fell. 

The result of this engagement was a lesson to the temerity 
of the enemy. After this decided repulse, the enemy seemed 
to have abandoned the idea of taking Vicksburg by assault, 
and went vigorously at work to thoroughly invest and attack 
by regular approaches. The weakness of our garrison pre- 
vented anything like a system of sallies, but, from time to 
time, as opportunities offered, and the enemy effected lodg- 
ments too close to our works, they were made with spirit and 
success. But these were unimportant incidents. The patience 
of Southern soldiers — a virtue for which they are not remark- 
able — was now to be tried by the experiences of a siege: 
exhausting labors, scant rations, a melancholy isolation, and 
the distress of being entirely cut off from their homes and 
friends. 

The siege was established by the enemy under circumstances 
of peculiar and extraordinary advantage. Although Grant's 
attack was made from Grand Gulf, that place was not long his 
base; and, when he gained Haines' Bluff and the Yazoo, all 
communication with it was abandoned. He was enabled to 
rely on Memphis and the river above Vicksburg for food and 
reinforcements ; his communications were open with the entire 
West ; and the Northern newspapers urgently demanded that 
the utmost support should be given to a favorite general, and 
that the Trans-Mississippi should be stripped of troops to supply 
him with reinforcements. 

But the South still entertained hopes of the safety of Vicks- 
burg. It was stated in Richmond, by those who should have 
been well informed, that the garrison numbered considerably 
more than twenty thousand men, and was provisioned for a 
siege of six months. Nearly every day the telegraph had some 
extravagance to tell concerning the supreme safety of Vicks- 
burg and the confidence of the garrison. The heroic promise 
of Pemberton, that the city should not fall until the last man 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 63 

had fallen in the last ditch, was called to the popular remem- 
brance. The confidence of the South was swollen even to in- 
solence by these causes ; and, although a few of the intelligent 
doubted tlie extravagant assurances of the safety of Yicksburg, 
the people at large received them with an unhesitating and 
exultant faith. 

The prospect of Johnston's relief to Yicksburg was a delu- 
sion of its unhappy garrison and of an ignorant public. In- 
deed, on learning of the Baker creek disaster, Johnston had 
given up Yicksburg for lost, and considered that Pemberton 
had made a fatal mistake in determining to be besieged in 
Yicksburg, rather than maneuvering, in the first instance, to 
prevent a siege. The fact is, that at no time after the disaster 
referred to did General Johnston have at his disposal half the 
troops necessary to risk an assault on Grant. After the evac- 
uation of Jackson he had retired to Canton, and the force he 
had collected there, including reinforcements to the amount of 
eight thousand men from Bragg's army in Tennessee, and 
above six thousand from Charleston, scarcely exceeded twenty- 
four thousand men. Grant's army was 'estimated at sixty 
thousand or eighty thousand men, and drawn, as they were, 
principally from the Northwestern States, they were of the 
best material. His great excess of force was being daily en- 
larged by reinforcements, while the Richmond authorities re- 
fused to give or to promise more troops to Johnston. On the 
5th of June, Mr. Seddon, the Confederate Secretary of War, 
telegraphed to Johnston : " You must rely on what you have, 
and the irregular forces Mississippi can afford." 

The fact is, that the resources of the Confederacy were at 
this time in the most critical condition. In Yirginia we were 
outnumbered by the enemy more than two to one ; and with 
reference to Bragg's condition in Tennessee, General Johnston 
did not hesitate to declare that, to take from him a force suffi- 
cient to oppose Grant, would involve the yielding of that State. 
He advised the Richmond authorities that it was for them to 
decide between Mississippi and Tennessee. He informed 
Pemberton that it was impossible for him (Johnston) with the 
force at his command to raise the siege of Yicksburg, and all 
that he could attempt was to extricate the garrison by a simul- 
taneous attack on some part of the enemy's lines. 



64 THE THIKD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

On the 15tli of June, General Jolmston communicated to 
the government liis opinion that, without some great bhinder 
of the enemy, we could not hold both Mississippi and Tennes- 
see, and that he considered saving Yicksburg hopeless. In- 
deed such an attempt had now become utterly desperate. 
Grant had entrenched his position, and protected it by power- 
ful artillery. His rcintbrccments alone equalled Johnston's 
whole force. The Big Black covered him from attack, and 
would cut off our retreat, if Johnston had been defeated in his 
mad enterprise of attack. 

And now ensued a series of extraordinary communications 
from Kichmond, remarkable even among the curiosities of the 
secret correspondence of officials, A favorite of the Richmond 
Administration had entangled himself in a hopeless siege, and 
the proposition was to be recklessly made to General Johnston 
to effect the relief of the favorite, or to cover his disaster by 
an attempt, which he (General Johnston) had declared would 
be tantamount to the sacritice of himself and army, and which 
all the circumstances of the situation plainly denounced as 
hopeless. The authorities essayed the dictatorial style, and de- 
clared that the aim justified " any risk and all probable con- 
sequences." General Johnston could not be convinced. They 
attempted the j^crsuasions of flattery : " The eyes and the 
hopes of the whole Confederacy are upon you," wrote IMr. Sed- 
don to Johnston, " with the full confidence that you will act." 
General Johnston could not be cajoled. The Richmond au- 
thorities were left to await the development of that for which 
they themselves were most responsible. 

The situation revealed in this correspondence was a close 
secret to the public. It was known to Pemberton, but most 
studiously kept from his troops, who, whenever a courier 
reached Vicksburg, imagined certain tidings of Johnston's 
approach. At times, the unhappy men listened for the sound 
of his guns. The hardships of the siege were telling upon 
tbem. The enemy were mining at different points, and it re- 
quired the active and constant attention of our engineers to 
repair at night the damage inflicted upon our works during 
the day, and to meet his diflerent mines by countermining. 
The same men were constantly in the trenches. The enemy 
bombarded day and night from seven mortars on the opposite 



THE TIIIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 65 

side of the peninsula, lie also kept up a constant iire on our 
lines by artillery and sharpshooters. Many officers and men 
were lost by this fire. Among the first, was the brave Briga- 
dier-general Green, of Missouri, who was shot in the neck by 
a minie ball. Ilis wish was gratified — "he lived not to see 
Vicksburg fall." 

But although General Johnston despaired of the ability of 
liis army to save Yicksbnrg, he was busy with eftbrts to extri- 
cate the garrison or to cut the enemy's communications, hop- 
ing, from day to day, there might possibly be some new de- 
velopment of the situation. On arriving in Mississippi he had 
informed General Kirby Smith, commanding the forces west 
of the Mississippi river, of the condition of Vicksburg and 
Port Hudson, and requested his aid and co-operation. Gen- 
eral Smith did send troops to give all possible aid to Vicks- 
burg. General Taylor was sent with eight thousand men to 
co-operate from the west bank of the Mississippi, to throw in 
supplies and to cross with his force if expedient and practi- 
cable. On the 27th of June- General Johnston telegraphed 
Pemberton that these troops " had been mismanaged, and had 
fallen back to Delhi." All prospect of relief from this quarter 
was thus terminated. 

A few days before this disappointment Pemberton had com- 
municated to Johnston the suggestion, that lie (Johnston) 
should make to Grant propositions to pass the army of Vicks- 
burg out with all its arms and equipages. He renewed the 
hope, however, of his being able, by force of arms, to act with 
Johnston, and expressed the opinion that he could hold out for 
fifteen days longer. Johnston was reassured by this spirit of 
determination. He still had some hopes of the co-operation 
of Kirby Smith. He replied to Pemberton, that something 
mig/d yet he done to save Vickslurg, and to postpone the 
modes suggested of merely extricating the garrison. 

This despatch never reached Vicksburg. " Had I received," 
said General Pemberton, " General Johnston's despatch of the 
27th of June, in which he encouraged the hope that both 
Vicksburg and .the garrison might be saved, I would have 
lived upon an ounce a day, and have continued to meet the 
assaults of all Grant's army, rather than have surrendered 
the city until General Johnston had realized or relinquished 

5 



G6 



THE TillED YEAR OF THE AVAR. 



that liope ; but I did not receive his despatch until the 
20th day of August, in Gainesville, Alabama, nor had I the 
most remote idea that such an opinion was entertained by 
General Johnston ; he had for some weeks ignored its possi- 
bility." 

Whatever may be the merit of this declaration, Johnston's 
reassurance was too late. The very day it was penned, Pem- 
berton had proposed a capitulation. 

Forty-five days of incessant duty, with short rations, had had 
a marked effect upon the troops of Vicksburg. The trials of the 
siege were extraordinary. The men had been exposed to burn- 
ing suns, drenching rains, damp fogs, and heavy dews, and had 
never had, by day or by night, the slightest relief. The extent 
of onr works reqnired every available man in the trenches, and 
even then they were, in many places, insufficiently manned. 
It was not possible to relieve any portion of the line for a sin- 
gle hour. Confined to the narrow limits of a trencli, with 
their limbs cramped and swollen, without exercise, constantly 
exposed to a murderous storm of shot and shell, while the 
enemy's unerring sharpshooters stood ready to pick off every 
man visible above the parapet, the troops had suffered many 
combinations of hardship which had told upon their health and 
spirits. It is nndoubtedly true, that in the condition in which 
the troops were, they would not have been able to cut their 
way through the enemy's lines, without the abandonment of a 
large number of sick, and the loss of, probably, half their ef- 
fective strength, Such an enterprise was discouraged by all 
the division commanders. But however unequal the condition 
of the troops to an enterprise of such vigor and hardihood, it 
is certain tliat it was yet equal to sustain for many days longer 
tlie fatigues and hardships of a siege. The condition of the 
garrison was certainly not as extreme as that which Pemberton 
had heroically prefigured as the alternative of surrender ; and 
it must be said, in the severe interest of truth, that it holds no 
honorable comparison with the amount of privation and sulfer- 
ing borne in other sieges recorded in history. 

On the 3d of July, Pemberton proposed terms of capitula- 
tion for the morrow, to " save the further effusion of blood," 
" feeling himself fully able to maintain his position for a yet 
indefinite period.*' There was but little dispute about terms : 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. C7 

the parole of tlie garrison, Grant's persistent refusal to make 
any stipulation with regard to the treatment of citizens, and 
the surrender of this latter point bj Pemberton. 

On the morning of Saturday, the Fourth of July, the anni- 
versary of American Independence, the troops of Vicksbui-g 
marched from the lines of entrenchments they had defended 
and held for nearly two months, and, after stacking their arms 
and lowering their standards which had proudly floated upon 
many a battle-field, returned inside of the works, prisoners of 
war to a detested and exultant foe. At the hour of noon the 
Yankee flao; was raised over the Court-house amid the shouts 
and cheers of Grant's troops. Demoralized as was Pember- 
ton's army, there were yet those whose hearts throbbed or eyes 
filled with tears as they saw the hated ensign floating over a 
city which the Confederacy had boasted to be impregnable, 
and which had at last been surrenderred to signalize an Amer- 
ican holiday. 

The public confidence of the South with regard to the safety 
of Yicksburg had been abused by the silly mendacities of the 
telegraph, which, to the last, reported the garrison in supreme 
spirits and the enemy in woful plight. Under these circum- 
stances the surprise and consternation of the people of the 
South may be imagined, when, without the least premonition, 
the announcement came that the select anniversary of the 
Fourth of July had been signalized by the capitulation of 
Yicksburg, without a fight : tiie surrender of twenty odd 
thousand troops as prisoners; and the abandonment to tlie 
Yankees of one of the greatest prizes of artillery that had yet 
been made in the war. The news fell upon Richmond like a 
thunder-clap from clear skies. It was at first denounced as an 
invention of speculators in sugar. The people were unwilling 
to reconcile themselves to a misfortune so unexpected in its 
announcement, and so monstrous in its particulars. 

The authorities of Richmond maintained a sullen silence. 
But the truth, at last, came out stark and unwelcome. We 
had surrendered to the enemy a force of more than twenty- 
three thousand men, with three major-generals, and nine 
brigadiers ; upwards of ninety pieces of artillery, and about 
forty thousand small arms, large numbers of the latter having 
been taken from the enemy during the siege. 



GS THE TIIlllD YEAIJ OK THE WAU. 

The statement that the garrison of Yicksbnrg was surren- 
dered on aecount of an inexorable distress, in whicli the sol- 
diers had to feed on mules, with the occasional luxury of rats, 
is either to be taken as a designing falsehood, or as the crudi- 
ties of that foolish newspaper romance so common in the war. 
In neither case does it merit refutation. A citizen of Yicks- 
bui-g declares that the only foundation for the rat story is that 
a }>ie spiced with this vermin was served up in some of the 
otiiccrs' messes as a practical joke, and that for days after the 
surrender he himself had dined on excellent bacon from Pem- 
berton's stores. In his official report Pemberton declares that 
he had at the time of the surrender of Yicksbnrg about 
40,000 pounds of pork and bacon, which had been reserved for 
the snbsistance of his troops in the event of attempting to cut 
his way out of the city. Also 51,2'11 pounds of rice, 5,000 
bushels of peas, 112,23-1 pounds of sugar, 8^240 pounds of 
soap, 527 pounds of tallow candles, 27 pounds of star candles, 
and 428,000 pounds of salt.* 

Tliere appears, then, to have been no immediate general oc- 
casion for the surrender of Yicksbnrg other than Pemberton's 
desire " to save the further cfl'usion of blood." The exi)lana- 
tion of his motives for selecting the Fourth of July as the day 
of surrender implies a singular humiliation of the Confederacy ; 
as he Avas willing to give this dramatic gratification to the 
vanity of the enemy in the hope of thus conciliating the ambi- 
tion of Grant, and soliciting the generosity of the Yankees. 
lie says : " If it should be asked why the Fourth of July was 

* But it must be stated that Pemberton's sui)plics of Vicksburg, whicli he 
had a your to provide, were criiniually scant; and that as the faihire of sup- 
plies would in all probability have decided the fate of Vicksburg, had he not 
anticipated it by a surrender, ho cannot be acijuitted of blame in this particu- 
lar. He declined to provision Vicksburg in prospect of a siege. When one of 
the Confederate generals, from Mississippi, pointed out to him vast supplies in 
certain counties of tlui State accessible to his garrison, he dismissed the advice 
Avith a haughtiness that almost amounted to ])ersonal insult. 

As ])root of the abundance of the country around Vicksburg, we have Grant's 
official report of his Mississippi campaign, in which he states that, with a view 
of rapid movement and surprise, having calculated that twenty days would 
place him before Vicksburg, he permitted his troops to take only four days' 
provisions, trusting to the country for the other sixteen days' supply, and, in 
fact, supplied his army (50,000 men), from the country lying about the line ol 
his march. 



THE THIUD TKAR OF THE WAR, . GO 

selected as the day for the surrender, the answer is obvious ; 1 
believed that, upon that da}^ I should obtain better terms. 
Well aware of the vanity of our foes, I knew they would attach 
vast importance to the entrance, on the Fourth of July, into 
the stronghold of the great river, and that, to gratify their na- 
tional vanity, they would yield then what could not be ex- 
torted from them at any other time." Such an incident of 
humiliation was alone wanting to complete the disaster and 
shame of Vicksburir. 

Wliat the Confederacy had proudly entitled its "heroic 
city," was now destined to the experience of Yankee despot- 
ism, and, what was worse, to the shame of those exhibitions of 
cowardly submission which suited the interests of those who 
were left to herd with their country's destroyers. The citizens 
of Vicksburghad suffered little more than mere inconvenience 
from the siege. There had been but little loss of life among 
them in the bombardment. The city was filled with gruu]is 
of caves on every hill-side. In these caves the women and 
children were sheltered during the nights, and occasionally in 
the daytime when the firing was very severe. The excava- 
tions branched out in various directions after passing the en- 
trance. They were not very desirable bed-chambers, but they 
seemed to have answered a very good purpose. In one or two 
instances shells entered them, and two women and a number 
of children were thus killed durina' the sicfje. 

On the same day the Yankees centered Vicksburg, several 
places of business were opened. Signs were hoisted on express 
ottices, book and fruit stores, informing the new customers that 
the proprietors were in and ready to serve them. A well- 
known citizen of Vicksburg took the oath of allegiance and 
accommodated General Grant with headquarters at his resi- 
dence. The Jewish portion of the population, composed princi- 
pally of Germans, with but one honorable exception, went for- 
ward and took the oath of allegiance to the United States. 

These tokens of submission were rewarded in the enemy's 
usual way. At first the citizens were placed under very little 
restraint. They were permitted to come in and go out of the 
lines almost at pleasure. In a few days, however, the reins 
were tightened. Vicksburg found a second edition of Ueast 
Butler in General Osterhaus, a tawny Dutchman, who pereiup- 



TO • THE THIRD YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

torilj stopped the ingress and egress of tlie people; forbid 
citizens from purchasing provisions without first registering 
their names; re-enacted much of tlie ingenious despotism of 
New Orleans; and declared that the height of his ambition 
was to get our people to hate and abhor him. 

A Mississippi paper declared that it had no word of excuse 
or charitj^ for the men who had remained in Yicksburg under 
the enemy's flag. To quote from their own slang dialect, '* the 
Confederacy was about gone up, and there was no use in fol- 
lowing its fortunes any further." But it repeated the charac- 
teristic story of the conquered cities of the South. The spirit 
of the women of Yicksburg was unbroken ; and amid all its 
shameful spectacles of subserviency, female courage alone re- 
deemed the sad story of a conquered and emasculated city. 
There was but a single exception to the compliment ; and she 
a Northern school-teacher who was first to sing " the Bonnie 
Blue Flag" in Yicksburg, at the commencement of the war, to 
raise the means to clothe our soldiers. She forgot the "hope- 
crowned past," and attended a social gathering at MacPher- 
son's headquarters, where during the evening a sword was 
presented "in honor of the surrender of Yicksburg." 

The city had been accounted one of the most beautiful of the 
South, of commanding situation, and adorned with a profusion 
of shrubbery ; but the rain of shot and shell had sadly marred 
its beauty. But few buildings were entirely demolished ; yet 
there was scarcely a house in Yicksburg that remained unscath- 
ed ; in all of them were frightful looking holes in the walls and 
floors. The streets had been ploughed up by shells. In walk- 
ing along the pavement one had to exercise care not to tumble 
into a pit dug by a projectile from a thirteen-inch mortar, or from 
a Parrott gun. The yards, gardens, and open lots were cut up 
with shot holes. Nearly every gate in the city was crowned 
with unexploded thirteen-inch shells placed a-top of each post, 
and the porches and piazzas were adorned with curious collec- 
tions of shot and shell that had fallen within the inclosures. 
Everywhere were to be found evidences of the fiery ordeal 
through which the city had passed. 

It is impossible to recount with precision the various inter- 
ests involved in the fate of Yicksburg. It compelled, as its 
necessary consequence, the surrender of other posts on the 



TFIE THIRD TEAR OF THE "WAR. 71 

Mississippi, and cut the Confederacy in twain. It neutralized 
successes in Lower Louisiana, to which we shall presentl}' re- 
fer. Its defence had involved exposure and weakness in other 
quarters. It had about stripped Charleston of troops ; it had 
taken many thousand men from Bragg's array ; and it had 
made such requisitions on his force for tlie newly organized 
lines in Mississippi, that that general was compelled or in- 
duced, wisely or unwisely, to fall back from Tullahoma, to 
give up the country on the Memphis and Charleston railroad, 
and practically to abandon the defence of Middle Tennessee. 

The fall of Yicksburg was followed by the enemy's re-occupa- 
tion of Jackson, the capitulation of Port Hudson, the evacua- 
tion of Yazoo city, and important events in Arkansas, which 
resulted in the retreat of our army from Little Rock and the 
surrender to the enemy of the important valley in which it is 
situated. To these events we must now direct the attention of 
the reader. 

THE YANKEE KE-OCCUPATIOJf OF JACKSON. 

General Grant advanced his forces on Jackson, to which 
point Johnston retreated so soon as he learned the Vicksburg 
disaster. His policy was to march rapidly to the capture or 
discomfiture of General Johnston's army. On the evening of 
the 9th of July, his advance drove in our outer line of pickets. 
The troops employed in this expedition were Sherman's army 
corps, the Fifteenth, commanded by General Steele ; the Thir- 
teenth arm}"" corps, General Ord, commanding, with Lauman's 
division of Sixteenth army corps attached, a portion of the 
Sixteenth and Ninth army corps, commanded by General Par- 
ker, and McArthur's division of General McPherson's corps — 
in all about four army corps. 

The works thrown up for the defence of Jackson consisted 
of a line of rifle-pits, prepared at intervals for artillery. These 
extended from a point north of the town, a little east of the 
Canton road, to a point south of the town, within a short dis- 
tance of Pearl river, and covered most of the approaches west 
of the river; but were badly located and constructed, pre- 
senting but a slight obstacle to a vigorous assault. 

The troops promptly took their assigned positions in the 



72 TUK THIRD YEAR OF TIIK WAR. 

intrencliments on the appearance of the enemy, in expectation 
of immediate assault: Major-general Loring occupying the 
riglit; Major-general Walker the right of the centre; Major- 
general French the left of the centre, and Major-general Breck- 
inridge the left. The cavalry, under Brigadier-general Jackson, 
was ordered to observe and guard the fords of Pearl river, 
above and below the town. 

But the enemy, ins.tead of attacking, as soon as he ar- 
rived, commenced intrenching atid constructing batteries. On 
the 10th, there was spirited skirmishing with slight cannonad- 
ing, continuing throughout the day. This was kept up with 
varying intensity, llills commanding and encircling the 
town, within easy cannon range, offered favorable sites for 
batteries. A cross-fire of shot and shell reached all parts of 
the town, showing the position to be entirely untenable against 
a powerful artillery. 

On the 12th, besides the usual skirmishing, there was a 
heavy cannonade from the batteries near the Canton and 
south of the Clinton roads. The missiles reached all parts of 
the town. An assault, though not a vigorous one, was also 
made on Major-general Breckinridge's line. It was quickly 
repelled, however, principally by the direct fire of Cobb's and 
Slocumb's batteries, and a flank attack of the skirmishers of the 
First, Third and Fourth Florida and Forty-seventh Georgia 
regiments. The enemy's loss in killed, wounded, and prison- 
ers, was at least five hundred.'^" 

On the 10th, General Johnston obtained information that a 
large train from A^icksburg, loaded with ammunition, was near 
the enemy's camp. This, and the condition of the enemy's 
batteries, made it probable that Sherman would the next day 
concentrate upon Jackson the fire of near two hundred guns. 

* During the heavy bombardment Colonel Withers was killed by the ex- 
plosion of a shell near his own residence. Ho had j ust returned from the front 
when he was killed. lie was buried at night by his failhftil slave, who was 
fired uix)n by the enemy during the interment. This boy's conduct to his de- 
ceased master was a rebuke to the enemy. In the face of the enemy's position, 
at night, within easy range of the enemy's sharpshooters, he, with the assist- 
ance of two Confederate ollicers, and by the flickering light of a lam{) — which 
was shot out of his hand while ho was performing his sacred duty — carried 
the body of his dead master and interred it with as much affection and tender 
care as if it were his own child. 



THK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. i6 

The evacuation of Jackson was determined on and effected on 
the night of the 16th. The evacuation was not discovered by tlie 
enenij until the next day ; and Johnston retired by easy march- 
es to Morton, distant about thirty-five miles from Jackson. 

When Sherman's troops entered Jackson, exasperated by the 
losses which their ranks had sustained, they commenced a de- 
struction of the houses by fire, which was kept up until there 
was but little left of the town but ashes. Jackson has been an 
ill-fated place. When it was captured before there was a 
great destruction. Now, where was but lately a thriving and 
pretentious town of between four and five thousand inhabitants, 
with a State-house, lunatic asylum, and many other public 
buildings, there was a heap of ruins. 

The country between Vicksburg and Jackson was com- 
pletely devastated. A letter from our lines in Mississij)pi thus 
described the outrages there : 

" I thought the condition of northern Mississippi and the 
country around my own home in Memphis deplorable. There 
robberies were committed, houses were burned, and occasion- 
ally a helpless man or woman was murdered ; but here, 
around Jackson and Vicksburg, there are no terms used in all 
the calendar of crimes which could convey any adequate con- 
ception of the revolting enormities perpetrated by our foes. 
Women have been robbed of their jewelry and wearing 
apparel — stripped almost to nakedness in the presence of jeer- 
ing Dutch ; ear-rings have been torn from their ears, and rings 
from bleeding fingers. Every house has been pillaged, and 
thousands burned. The whole country between the Big Black 
and the Mississi})pi, and all that district through which Grant's 
army passed, is one endless scene. of desolation. This is not 
the worst ; robbery and murder are surely bad enougii, but 
worse than all this, women have been subjected to enormities 
worse than death. 

" Negroes, men and women, who can leave their homes, are 
forced or enticed away. The children alone are left. Barns 
and all descriptions of farm-houses have been burned. All 
supplies, bacon and flour, are seized for the use of the invad- 
ing army, and the wretched inhabitants left to starve. Tlie 
roads, along which Grant's army has moved, are strewn with 
all descriptions of furniture, wearing apparel, and private 



74: THE THIRD YKAR OK TIIK WAR. 

property. In many instances Imsbands liave been arrested, 
and tlireatenod with instant death by the hangman's rope, in. 
order to make their wives reveal the phice of eoneealment of 
their vahiable eftects. The poor women are made to ransom 
their sons, dangliters, and h\isbands. The worst shwes are 
selected to insult, taunt, and revile their masters, and the 
wives and daughters of their masters.;" 

"We must remember that these enormities w^ero contemporary 
with Lee's civilities in Pennsylvania. It was bad enough for 
that commander to make such return for what he had experi- 
enced in Virginia ; but the enemy's warfare in distajit and 
remote parts of the Confederacy exceeded in atrocity what had 
been known on the lines of the Potomac. It appears to have 
been aggravated in proportion to its distance from the centres 
of intelligence. In the Southwest it was not denied that the 
policy of the enemy was the destruction of all resources of live- 
lihood, but on the border (in Missouri, for instance), the enemy 
was bold enough to announce the policy of the extermination 
of the inhabitants.* But to this subject we shall have occa- 
sion to refer again. 

THE FALL OF TORT HUDSON, ETC. 

The fate of Port Hudson was necessarily involved in that of 
Yicksbui-g. But it did not fall until after a prolonged and 
gallant resistance, the facts of which may be brielly commemo- 
rated. On the morning of the 22d of May, the enemy, under 

* For instance, a Missouri paper, speaking of tho iwlicy of General Ewing 
(tlio Ynukeo general in command of that depai-tment), towards the secession- 
ists of that country, says : 

'• General Ewing's policy towanls these wretches from tho very start has 
been simply extermination — nothing less. His orders have been to take no 
prisoners from them, and the orders fiair been strietly obeyed.^' 

Again, the St. Louis Demoerat, an abolition sheet, says, in referring to the 
troubles on the Missouri border : 

"The Seventh Missouri State militia are burning all the houses of rebel 
sympathizers all along the bonier. A fearful state of things exists in all the 
border counties, and general devastntion is observable." 

One of these rutlians, a Yankee colonel, tleclared that he would hang every 
man without " protection papers." He said that " the whole duty" of his regi- 
ment (.the Fifteenth) wouUl be " to kill rebels " and closed with the following 
atrocious boast : '• Wo carry the flag ; kill with the sabre ; and hang with the 
gailoAVB." 



TIIK THIRD TKAR OF THE WAR. 75 

command of General Banks, pushed his infantry forward 
within a mile of our breastworks. Ilavini^ taken his position 
for the investment of our works, lie advanced with liis whole 
force against the breastworks, directing his main attack against 
the lefr, commanded by Colonel Steadman. Vigorous assaults 
wore also made against the extreme left of Colonel Miles and 
GeiKMul r>oale, the former of whom commanded on the centre, 
the latter on the right. On the left tlie attack was made by a 
brigade of negroes, composing about three regiments, together 
with the same force of white Yankees, across a bridge which 
had been built over Sandy creek. About five hundred negroes 
in front advanced at double-quick within one hundred and lifty 
yards of the works, when the artillery on the river blutf, and 
two light pieces on our left, opened upon them, and at the 
same time they were received with volleys of musketry. The 
negroes fled every way in perfect confusion, and, according to 
the enemy's report, six hundred of them perished. Tlie repulse 
on Miles' left was decisive. 

On the 13th of June a communication was received from 
General Banks, demanding the unconditional surrender of the 
post. He complimented the garrison in high terms for their 
endurance, lie stated that his artillery was equal to any in 
extent and efliciency ; that his men outnumbered ours five to 
one; and that he demanded the surrender in the name of 
humanity, to prevent a useless sacrifice of life. General Gard- 
ner replied that his duty required him to defend the post, and 
he must refuse to entertain any such proposition. 

On the morning of the 14th, just before day, the fleet and 
all the land batteries, which the enemy had succeeded in 
erecting at one hundred to three hundred yards from our 
breastworks, opened fire at the same time. About daylight, 
under cover of the smoke, the enemy advanced along the 
whole line, and in many places approached within ten feet of 
our works. Our brave soldiers were wide-awake, and, opening 
upon them, drove them back in confusion, a great number of 
them being left dead in the ditches. One entire division and 
a brigade were ordered to charge the position of the First Mis- 
sissippi and the !Ninth Alabama, and by the mere physical 
pressure of numbers some of them got within the works, but 
all these were immediately killed.. After a sharp contest of two 



76 tup: third year ok tiik wak. 

hours, the enemy were everjM-here rei)ulsed, and withdrawn to 
their oki h'nes. 

During tlie remainder of the month of June tliere was iieavj 
skirmishing daily, with constant firing night and day from the 
gun and mortar boats. During tlie siege of six weeks, from 
May 27th to July 7th, inclusive, the enemy must have fired 
from fifty to seventy-five thousand shot and shell, yet not more 
than twenty -five men were killed by these projectiles. They 
had worse dangers than these to contend against. About the 
29th or 30th of June, the garrison's supply of meat gave out, 
when General Gardner ordered the mules to be butchered 
after ascertaining that the men were willing to eat them. At 
the same time the supply of ammunition Avas becoming ex- 
hausted, and at the time of the surrender there were only 
twenty rounds of cartridges left, with a small supply for 
artillery. 

On Tuesday, July 7th, salutes were fired from the enemy's 
batteries and gunboats, and loud cheering was heard along the 
entire line, and Yankees, who were in conversing distance of 
our men, told them that Vicksburg had fallen. That night 
about ten o'clock, General Gardner summoned a council of 
war, who, without exception, decided that it was impossible to 
hold out longer, considering that the provisions of the garrison 
were exhausted, the ammunition almost expended, and a large 
proportion of the men sick or so exhausted as to be unfit for 
duty. The surrender was accomplished on the morning of the 
9th. The number of the garrison M'hich surrendered, was be- 
tween five and six thousand, of whom not more than half were 
efi'ective men for duty. 

A few days later, and another disaster is io be noticed in 
Mississippi : the enemy's capture of Yazoo city. lie advanced 
against Yazoo city, both by land and water, on the 13th of 
July. The attack of the gunboats was handsomely repulsed 
by our heavy battery, under the command of Commander 
Isaac N. Brown of the navy. The De Kalb, the flag-ship of 
the liostile squadron, an iron-clad, mounting thirteen guns, 
was sunk by a torpedo. To the force advancing by land no 
resistance was made by the garrison, commanded by Colonel 
Oreasman, of the 29th North Carolina regiment. 

The greatest misfortune of this event was our loss in boats 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 77 

and material of a cliaracter much needed. Some twenty vessels 
were scuttled and destroyed ; and of the fine fleet of hoats 
that had souglit refuge in the Yazoo river, not more tlian four 
or five were saved, which were up the Tallahatchie and Yello- 
busha. 

THE BATTLE OF HELENA. — THE TRANB-MISSISSIPPI. 

The Vicksburg disaster was attended with a grave mis- 
fortune on the other side of the Mississippi : the repulse of the 
Confederates at Helena. Our army arrived within five miles 
of Helena on the evening of tlie 3d of July, when General 
Holmes assumed immediate command, detached Marmaduke's 
division and left Price but two brigades — Mcllae's Arkansians 
and Parsons' Missourians — with which he was ordered to as- 
sume position, assault and take what was known as the Grave-' 
yard Hill the next morning. 

The route lay for the greater part of the way across abrupt 
hills and deep ravines, over which it was utterly impossible to 
move artillery during the darkness. General Price ordered 
his artillery to be left behind until daybreak, and moved for- 
ward with details from each battery accompanying the in- 
fantry, in order to command the guns which he expected to 
capture. 

Within half a mile of the enemy's works. Price's troops 
were formed into two columns of divisions, Parsons' brigade 
occupying the right, moving in front. Both brigades moved 
forward rapidly, steadily, unflinching, and in perfect order 
under a storm of grape, canister, and minie balls, which were 
poured upon them not only from the Graveyard Hill in their 
front, but from the fortified hills upon the right and left, both 
of which were in easy range. The enemy gave way before the 
impetuous assault of the attacking columns, which entering the 
works almost simultaneously, planted the Confederate flag on 
the summit of the Graveyard Hill. 

In the meantime, however, the attack of the enemy's works 
on Price's left, which was to have been made by General 
Fagan, had been repeatedly repulsed ; although the men 
fought gallantry, and more than once drove the enemy from 
his rifle pits, under a heavy enfilading fire from one of the 



78 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

enemy's strongest forts and a gunboat in front of the town. 
General Price had ordered McRae's brigade to reinforce Fa- 
gan ; but it soon became obvious tliat it had been so much 
weakened by losses, and by the straggling of men overcome 
by thirst and the intense heat of the day, or disheartened by 
the failure of the other assaulting column, that it could not be 
detached without too greatly endangering General Price's own 
position. Under these circumstances, an order came from 
General Holmes to Price to withdraw his division. The at- 
tack was abandoned after a loss to the Confederates of about 
five or six hundred killed and wounded, and probably twice 
that number of prisoners. 

But the result was important in other respects than that of 
the casualties of the fight. It, in connection with the fall of 
Vicksburg, terminated all hope of the connection of the Trans- 
Mississippi with the eastern portions of the Confederacy, and 
was the first step of the retreat which, at last abandoning 
Little Rock, was to surrender into the hands of the enemy the 
most valuable portion of Arkansas. 

It was supposed that the worst consequences of these events 
would be to estrange the Trans-Mississippi, and easily subject it 
to the arms or to the persuasions of the enemy. Never were 
fears of Confederate statesmen so little realized. They found 
in this distant section of the Confederacy a virtue which had 
been maintained under all disasters, and which should be com- 
memorated here in a brief review of the history of this section. 

The spirit of the Trans-Mississippi was most conspicuous and 
noble in view of the peculiar sufierings it had endured. It 
had made a proud record of patriotic integrity. In another 
volume we have seen how the Confederate forces, in anticipa- 
tion of a grand contest near Corinth, were moved east of the 
Mississippi by order of General Albert Sidney Johnson, then 
commanding the "Western Department. "We may look back 
to that dark period. The Confederates took with them from 
Arkansas all material of war and public property, of every 
description. Immediately afterwards. Brigadier-general Pike 
retreated sonthward, to the vicinity of Red river. Thus Mis- 
souri was left hopeless of early succor, Arkansas without a 
soldier, and the Indian country undefended, except by its own 
inhabitants. A Federal force, five thousand strong, was organ- 



THE TIlIKr> YEAR OF THE WAK. 79 

ized nt Fort Scott, under tlie iianio of tlie " Indian expedition," 
and with the avowed intention to invade the Indian conntrj 
and wrest it from our control. Hostile Indians began (-(dlect- 
ing on the border, and Federal emissaries were busy among 
the Cherokees and Creeks, inciting disatiection. Detachments 
of Federal cavalry penetrated, at M'ill, into various parts of the 
upper half of Arkansas, plundering and burning houses, steal- 
ing horses and slaves, destroying farming utensils, murdering 
loyal men or carrying them into captivity, forcing the oath of 
allegiance on the timid, and disseminating disloyal sentiments 
among the ignorant. Tory bands were organized in many 
counties, not only in the upper, but in the lower half of the 
State likewise, and depredations and outrages upon loyal citi- 
zens were of constant occurrence. Straggling soldiers, belong- 
ing to distant commands, traversed the country, armed and 
lawless, robbing the people of their property, under the ]>re- 
tence of "impressing'' it for the Confederate service. The 
governor and other executive officers fled from the capital, 
taking the archives with them. The courts M-ere susjiended, 
and civil magistrates almost universally ceased to exercise 
their fnnetions. Confederate money was openly refused, or 
so depreciated as to be nearly M'orthless. This, with the short 
crop of the preceding year, and the failure, on all the uplands, 
of the one then growing, gave rise to the crudest extortion in 
the necessaries of life, and menaced the poor with actual 
starvation. 

But it was not only the omissions of the Richmond Admin- 
istration of which the Trans-Mississippi had to comjdain. 
There were perpetrated upon it such positive outrages of the 
Confederate authority as had never been ventured or imagined 
in other portions of the country. The excesses of Major-gen- 
eral Ilindman, who assumed, by a certain color of authority 
from Richmond, to be commanding-general of the Trans-Mis- 
sissippi, had been severely censured by members of the Con- 
. federate Congress, and were the subject of an investigation in 
that body. They were such as might have moved any people 
from their allegiance, whose patriotism was not paramount to 
all other considerations. He suspended the civil authority, 
and instituteil what he called " a government ad uiterim.''' In 
the summer of 1863. he had proclaimed martial law. To make 



so THE TIIIUi:» YKAE OF THE WAR. 

this declaration effective, a provost martial was appointed in 
each county, and all the independent companies therein were 
placed under his control. Over these were appointed provost 
marshals of districts which included several counties. The 
provost marslial general, at General Ilindman's headquarters, 
had comnnmd over all. 

Whatever may have been the good intentions or the pallia- 
tive circumstances of this singular usurpation, it certainly 
could not be agreeable to a people accustomed to civil liberty ; 
and it was an excrescence of the war, after the fashion of Yan- 
kee " vigor," which did serious dishonor to the Confederacy. 
AVe have referred to it here to illustrate the virtues of a people, 
whose steadfast patriotism could survive such trials. 

As we have elsewhere seen, General Holmes assumed com- 
mand of the Trans-Mississipin Department in the latter part 
of 18(52. Ills operations had been feeble and unsuccessful. 
The fall of Yicksburg and the defeat at Helena, were irrepara- 
ble disastei'«. Communication was interrupted between the 
two sections of the Confederacy, and each thrown on its own 
resources. It was supposed that this division of the efforts of 
the Confederacy would tend to weakness and jealousies. But 
these fears were dismissed, when it was known that the gov- 
ernors of the States of the Trans Mississippi had made the 
recent disasters an occasion of official conference, in which 
they had taken the noble resolution to do their respective parts 
in the war, and to take care that the common cause of our 
independence should not suffer by a division of the efforts to 
obtain it. They declared that, instead of such division of effort 
being occasion of jealousy, it should be that of noble and 
patriotic rivalry. 

It is not to be denied that it was unfortunate that the East- 
ern States and those of the Trans-Mississippi had been con- 
strained to separate efforts in the war. But it was an especial 
subject of congratulation and pride that the spirit and unaTi- 
imity of the South were unaffected by such an event, and that 
the most distant people of the Confederacy, not only faithfully 
kept, but fondly cherished their attachment to the vital prin- 
ciple of our struggle and the common cause of our arms. 



THE THIED YEAR OF THE WAR. 81 



CHAPTER lY. 

Elasticity of tho Spirit of the Confederacy. — What it Taiifrht. — Decay of Confi- 
dence in President Davis's Adtninistration. — llis Affoction for Penibcrton. — A Season 
of Enconragiiip Events. — Tun Campaign in Loweh Louisiana. — Capture of Brasliear 
Oity. — Tlio Affair of Donaldson. — The Siege of Chaulkston. — Operations of tho 
Enemy on Folly Island. — General Beauregard's Embarrassments. — Assault of the 
Enemy of Fort Wagner. — His Foothold on Morris Island. — Beauregard's Dcsigni?. — 
Bombardment of Fort Wagner. — Second Repulse of the Enemy's Assault. — Gilmore's 
Insolont Demand. — His Attempt to Fire Charleston. — A Noble Keply from Beaure- 
gard. — Bombardment of Fort Sumter. — The Fort in Ruins.— Evacuation of Morris 
Island by the ('onfederatcs. — Tho Yankee Congratulations. — Devilisli Penalties for 
" the Secession t'ity." — Daiilgren's Part of the Programme. — His Night Attack on 
Sumter. — His Failure. — Safety of Charleston. — Bitterness of Yankee Disappointment. 
— Morgan's E-xrEoirioN into Indiana and Ohio. — Ilis Capture of Lebanon. — An 
Unnatural Encounter. — Murder of Captain Magennis. — The Incursion Through Indi- 
ana. — Tlic Yankee Pursuit. — A Chaplain's Trick. — Ojterations in Ohio. — Tiie Affair 
of Buffington Island. — Morgan's Attempt to Escape. — Ilis Capture and Imprison- 
ment. — Results of his Expedition, Strategic and Material. — The Value of Military 
Adventure. 

The most remarkable quality displayed by the Southern 
mind in this war has been its elasticity under reverse, its 
quick recovery from every impression of misfortune. This, 
more than any thing else, has attested the strength of our res- 
olution to be free, and shown the utter insignificance of any 
" peace party," or element of submission or compromise in the 
Confederacy. Great as were the disasters of Vicksburg and 
Gettysburg they were the occasions of no permanent depres- 
sion of the public mind ; and as the force of misfortune could 
scarcely, at any one time, be expected to exceed these events, 
it may be said they taught the lesson that the spirit of the 
Confederacy could not be conquered unless by some extremity 
close to annihilation. A few days after the events referred to 
President Davis took occasion, in a proclamation of pardon to 
deserters, to declare that a victorious peace, with proper exer- 
tions, was yet immediately within our grasp. Nor was he ex- 
travagant in this. The loss of territory which we had sustained, 
unaccompanied as it was by any considerable adhesion of its 
population to the enemy, though deplorable indeed, was not a 

' 6 



82 THIi TIlIKn YKAK OF TIIK WAR. 

vital incident of the war : it had reduced the resources of sub- 
sistence, but it had multiplied the spirit of resistance, and it 
was yet very far from the centre of our defence. "While Mr. 
Seward was making to Europe material calculations of Yan- 
kee success in the square miles of military occupation and in 
the comparative arithmetic of the military power of the bellig- 
erents, the Confedera{!y had merely postponed its prospect of 
a victorious peace, and was even more seriously confident of 
the ultimate issue than when it first declared its independence. 

But it must not be disguised that one, and perhaps the most 
imi>ortant of the disasters referred to — the fall of Vicksburg — 
while no occasion of despair to the Confederacy, was yet that 
of another great decline of popular confidence in the Adminis- 
tration of President Davis, llajipily, every page of the his- 
tory of this war attests that the dissatisfaction of the (,\>nfed- 
crate peo])le with the Kichmond Administration was compa- 
tible with steady attachment to that cause for which they 
fought and which was impersonal and sublime. It is the fact 
of these two existing conditions in the Confederacy, a ])uzzle 
to niany, that gives the sublimest quality to this war, and con- 
tains its most valuable lesson. 

Never had the obstinate adhesion of President Davis to his 
favorites been more forcibly illustrated than in the case of 
Pembcrton. The criticism of the public had no charity for 
this commander, and his recent campaign, culminating in the 
surrender of Vicksburg, was denounced by the intelligent as a 
series of blunders, and by others less just and more passionate 
as the device of treason. President Davis had retained him in 
command in spite of the most powerful remonstrance ever 
made by a people against the gratification of a personal con- 
ceit in their ruler. Indeed, the President went further than 
mere opposition to the public sentiment. lie defied and al- 
most insulted it ; for after the disaster of Vicksburg, Pember- 
ton, with the public reproaches clinging to him, and jniblic 
sentiment clamoring in vain for an inquiry into his conduct, 
was ostentatiously entertained as the President's guest in Rich- 
mond, and given the distinction of one of his suite in the sub- 
sequent official visit of the President to our armies in the 
West ! It was said by Mr. Foote, in public session of Con- 
gress, that when the President, with a peculiar hardihood, cs- 



TlIK Tinun YIOAll OF TlIK WAR. 83 

saycd to rule down tlie lines of our troops, witli PeinbertoTi at 
his side, angry exclamations assailed them, and passed from 
lip to lip of the soldiers. 

There were certain events which aided in relieving; the im- 
pression of the Vicksburg disaster, or, at least, served to divert 
the public mind. Of these were the operations of the Con- 
federate general, Taylor, in Lower Louisiana, some of which 
had })receded the fall of Vicksburg, and, at one time, had kin- 
dled in the South the hope of the reca})ture of New Orleans. 



HEK CAMPAIGN IN LOWKR LOUISIANA. 

Information received from Southwest Louisiana had deter- 
mined General Taylor to organize an attack upon r>rashear 
City and its forts. Colonel Majors, who commanded a brigade 
of cavalry on the Atchafalaya, was to push boldly through the 
Grosse Tete, Marangoin and Lafourche country, to Doiuildson- 
ville, thence to Thibodeaux, cut off the railroad and telegraph 
communication, then ]iush ra])idly to Bceuf river, in the rear 
of J>rashear City, while a force under Generals Mouton and 
Gri'cn was to cooi)erate in front of the enemy's position, on 
Berwick's l>ay. 

On the 22d of June General Mouton had succeeded in col- 
lecting some thirty-seven skiffs and other row-boats, near the 
mouth of the Toche, with a view to co-operate, from the west 
side of the Atchafalaya, with Colonel Majors' command, then 
on the Lafourche. An expedition, numbering three hundred 
and twenty-five gallant volunteers, under Major Sherod Hun- 
ter, started at 6 o'clock p. m., to turn the enemy's stronghold 
at Brashear City. It was a hazardous mission to cross the lake 
(twelve miles) in these frail barks, to land at midnight on the 
enemy's side, in an almost impenetrable swamp, and await the 
dawn of day, to make the desperate attempt which would in- 
sure victory or a soldier's death. 

The boat-expedition having got oflf, General Thomas Green, 
with the Fifth Texas mounted volunteers, the Second Louisi- 
ana cavalry, Waller's Texas battalion, and the Valverde and 
NichoUs' batteries, advanced, under cover of night, to o])posito 
the enemy's camp. The Seventh and Fourth Texas regiments 



84 THE THIKD YKAK OF THE WAK. 

were thrown across the Atchafalaya, to Gibbons' Island, during 
the night. General Green was to attract the enemy's atten- 
tion and fire, while the troops on Gibbons' Island were to be 
thrown across to the support of Major Hunter, as soon as the 
boats returned from the latter's landing-point, in rear of the 
enemy's position. 

Immediately after daylight, General Green fired the first 
gun from the Valverde battery, at a gunboat of the enemy, 
which was steaming up the bay in the direction of the upper 
fort (Buchanan). Instantly the whole bay was in a blaze, our 
guns playing upon the long lines of the enemy's tents. The 
Yankees were completely surprised. Their heavy guns, from 
three forts, opened on Green. There was a keen anxiety on 
our side for the sound of Colonel Majors' guns, for it only re- 
mained for him to occupy the Boeuf crossing, to cut off com- 
pletely the enemy's communication. At last the long-distant 
sound of artillery told that Majors was there; and at the same 
moment the storming party of Major Hunter made its appear- 
ance on the edge of a piece of woods. With a real Texas 
yell the latter dashed at once, with bayonets fixed and pistols 
drawn, full at the threatening walls of the proud fort — in 
twenty minutes they had climbed its walls, dispersed its gar- 
rison, torn down the stars and stripes, and hoisted the Con- 
federate flag over its ramparts. This heroic charge was made 
at the point of the bayonet, with unloaded muskets. In half 
an hour Generals Taylor, Mouton, and Green, with their re- 
spective staffs, had their headquarters in the city of Brasliear. 

The immediate fruits of the capture were one thousand 
prisoners, ten heavy guns, and a large amount of stores of all 
descriptions. The position obtained by General Taylor, with 
that of Thibodeaux, gave him command of the Mississippi 
river above 'New Orleans ; enabled him, in a great measure, 
to cut oft' Banks' supplies, and, it was hoi)ed, might eventually 
force Banks to the choice of losing New Orleans or abandon- 
ing his operations against Port Hudson. 

But the plan which General Taylor had arranged for an at- 
tack on New Orleans unfortunately fell through, in conse- 
quence of his disappointment of reinforcements. His active 
force, not including the garrison at Berwick's Bay, was less 
than four thousand. He had obtained from New Orleans in- 



THE THIRD TEAE OF THE WAR. 85 

telligence of the fall of Vicksburg, and this, with the conse- 
quent fate of Port Hudson, rendered his position in the La- 
fourche extremely hazardous, and not to be justified on military 
grounds. 

On the 28th of June General Green had been repulsed in 
an attack on Donaldsonville, after a desperate struggle, with 
two hundred and sixty casualties. On the 12th of July, after 
the fall of Port Hudson, the enemy, over four thousand strong, 
advanced six miles from Donaldsonville, where he was met by 
General Green, with his own and a part of Majors' brigade 
(in all twelve hundred men), and driven from the field, with a 
loss of about five hundred in killed and wounded, some three 
hundred prisoners, three pieces of artillery, many small arms, 
and the flag of a New York regiment. The gallant Green 
dismounted from his horse, placed himself at the head of his 
old regiment, captured the enemy's guns, and drove his forces 
into the fort, and under the guns of the fleet. 

These operations in Lower Louisiana were not followed by 
the important consequences which were at one time anticipa- 
ted : for, as we have seen, Taylor's force was not competent to 
hold the Lafourche country against the overwhelming forces 
of the enemy released from the siege of Port Hudson. Yet 
the events we have briefly narrated, had afforded a certain en- 
couragement to the South ; for they were, at least, some relief 
from the unwelcome news we had hitherto had from an ill- 
starred portion of the Confederacy. 

But one must look in another direction for the first impor- 
tant wave of the returning tide of victory that was to cover 
the popular recollection of Yicksburg, and again exalt the 
hopes and confidence of the Confederacy. 



THE SIEGE OF CHAKLESTON. 

The enemy had prepared to follow up the achievements of 
the summer campaign, by a vigorous attempt upon Charleston. 
It had been determined by General Gilmore, in command of 
the Yankee forces, to take Folly Island, as the base of siege 
operations against Charleston, and to possess, if possible, Mor- 
ris Island, under the belief that it was the key to Charleston. 



86 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAE. 

This latter island is an outer strip of land, lying directly on the 
ocean. It is some three and a half miles in length, and tlie 
northern end, crowned hy Cummings' Point Battery, was the 
goal aimed at by the enemy, as it bore directly on Fort Sum- 
ter and the channel leading by it to the city. At the southern 
extremity of the island was another battery, pointing out 
towards the north end of Folly Island, where the Yankees had 
been encamped for many months, and constructing heavy 
works. It was known and reported to the Confederate gov- 
ernment, that Folly Island was occupied in force since the 7th 
of April, and, as a consequence, that Morris Island was threat- 
ened. The changes of land and naval commanders of the en- 
emy were reported as presages of impending hostilities. But 
in vain. All ideas of attack were scouted at Richmond, as 
late even as the first week in July. 

General Beauregard's force at Charleston had been greatly 
reduced by tlie authorities, under the persistent belief that the 
city and adjoining coast were safe from any serious military 
operations of the enemy. He was left to provide against at- 
tacks upon Charleston in no less than five different directions. 
There is no doubt that he had been seriously embarrassed in 
his attempts to put Morris Island in condition to meet the at- 
tack of the enemy, by the want of labor to carry out the plans 
for its defence ; want of armament for the works necessary to 
that end ; and last, but not least, want of men to hold and 
fight any works which might have been thrown up at the south 
end of Morris Island, without stripping other important po- 
sitions of the feeble supports left them. 

But although General Beauregard must have had a general 
expectation of attack in this direction, it is not to be disguised, 
that he was surprised in the time and manner of its develop- 
ment. It is said, that he had not force enough left to venture 
upon a thorough reconnoissance of the enemy's outposts on 
Folly Island. For a number of weeks the enemy had been 
busily engaged on this point of land, in building sand batteries 
and mounting heavy guns within eight hundred yards of our 
works on Morris Island. The work was all performed under 
cover of the night. Screened from observation by the nature 
of the ground, hundreds of men were engaged night after 
night, silently and industriously throwing up earthworks, and 



THE THIPwD YEAK OF THE WAK. 87 

mounting heavy guns so near to the Confederates that a loud 
word might have revealed the work. Shortly before daylight 
brush would be so disposed as to conceal the work of tlie pre- 
vious night, without exciting the suspicions of the Confederates. 
The morning light would dawn upon a quiet and deserted 
scene — not a soul to be seen — not a sound to be heard — not a 
thing to indicate offensive operations that the night had con- 
cealed. In this manner batteries were thrown up, and guns 
and mortars put in position. 

On the evening of the 9th, a division of the enemy was sent 
up Stono river to effect a landing on James Island, near a 
place called Stevens' Point. This movement was partially 
intended to occupy the attention of our forces, and conceal 
from them the real object of the large fleet of vessels hovering 
about Stono Inlet, and movements of the enemy on Folly 
Island, At nightfall small boats, loaded with armed men, 
began to dash out from either shore. These men were to 
make their way up the narrow creek, which makes into Morria 
Island, and. there wait till morning, when on a given signal 
they would assault the battery. This force was under General 
Strung. 

At daybreak on the following morning, the brush and 
boughs, which had served to conceal the battery on Folly 
Island from observation, were hastily removed, and the guns 
exposed to the Confederates. At Ave o'clock the first gun 
was heard from the enemy's battery. The battery was some- 
what screened from view by a grove of trees, but the incessant 
cannonade, and the dense white smoke, which rose above the 
tall pines, told how fearfully the contest raged. 

In the meantime the assaulting column of the enemy, con- 
sisting of three regiments, moved on slowly and silently up 
the beach, until they arrived within two hundred yards of 
Fort Wagner, when the Confederate pickets were encountered. 
The order to charge was given. The fort opened with tliree 
eight-inch howitzers, heavily charged with grape and canister. 
The Seventh Connecticut, which was in the advance, pressed 
through the fort, but the Pennsylvania and ]^ew York regi- 
ments, which were to support them, staggered back and lost 
their distance, when all three regiments broke into a shameful 
run, scattering down the beach. 



88 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

The assault of the enemy was a shameful failure. The loss 
of life was inconsiderable, as two of the regiments kept out of 
the fire, and we may imagine how many were " missing" 
when the casualties in the storming party were ofhcially 
enumerated by the enemy as three hundred and thirty-four. 
But as our lower battery had been abandoned, the Yankees 
had succeeded in getting possession of the lower end of the 
island. They had gained a foothold, and were now to direct 
all their energies to get possession of Fort Wagner. This 
strong earthwork was near midway of the island, and had to 
be reduced before the enemy could reach Cummings' Point, 
and operate from there on Fort Sumter. 

The enemy having once obtained a foothold on Morris 
Island, it might have been easily foreseen that he would 
eventually compel an evacuation by the operations of siege, 
and the impossibility of defending forever a small island cut 
off from communication by an enormous fleet. But it was not 
to be given up without a brilliant incident of arms ; for Gen- 
eral Beauregard had determined to hold it, while works were 
elsewhere erected, and until the door of honorable retreat w^as 
open. 

In about a week the Yankees had occupied Black Island — a 
small spot between James and Morris Islands — and thrown up 
a battery ; they had erected two or three additional batteries 
on Morris Island, about one and three-quarter miles from Fort 
Wagner, and they had concentrated their fleet, consisting of 
four monitors, the Ironsides, a frigate, and four gunboats, 
some of which threw shell from mortars. Altogether, the 
circle of fire embraced not far from seventy guns. At day- 
light, of the 18th August, these opened, first deliberately ; but 
as the morning wore on the fire increased. Two monitors, two 
mortar boats, and the Ironsides, had by ten o'clock formed a 
line nearly in front of Battery Wagner, and about noon these 
were joined by two additional monitors. Until six o'clock in 
the evening the firing was incessant. There was scarcely an 
interval that did not contain a reverberation of the heavy 
guns, and the shock of the rapid discharges trembling through 
the city called hundreds of citizens to the battery, wharves, 
steeples, and various look-outs, where, with an interest never 
felt before, they looked on a contest that might decide the fate 



THE THIED YEAR OF THE WAR. 89 

of their fair city. Above Battery "Wagner, bursting high in 
air, striking the sides of the work or phinging into the beach, 
and throwing up pillars of earth, were to be seen the quickly 
succeeding shells and round shot of the enemy'B guns. Bat- 
tery Gregg at Cummings' Point and Fort Sumter took part in 
the thundering chorus. As the shades of evening fell upon 
the scene the entire horizon appeared to be lighted up with 
the fitful flashings of the lurid flames that shot out from mon- 
ster guns on land and sea. • 

As night began to fall the bombardment relaxed. But it 
w^as known to our officers commanding that such a demon- 
stration on the part of the enemy was not without its object; 
and every man was ordered, by General Taliaferro, who com- 
manded our side, to the parapet to prepare for the expected 
assault of the enemy. 

At dusk two brigades of the enemy were formed in line on 
the beach. The regiments were disposed in columns, except a 
Massachusetts regiment of blacks, which, for peculiar reasons, 
was given the post of extreme honor and extreme danger in 
the advance, and was drawn up in line of battle, exposing its 
full front to our fire. 

The enemy moved forward at quick time and in deep silence. 
As they reached the vicinity of our rifle-pits, our batteries 
opened, and grape and canister was thrown into their ranks 
with fearful precision and execution. Checked for an instant 
only, they closed up the ragged gaps in their lines and moved 
steadily on until within less than eighty yards. 

Barely waiting for the Yankees to get within a destructive 
range our infantry opened their fusilade, and from a fringe of 
fire that lined the parapet leaped forth a thousand messengers 
of death. Staggering under the shock, the first line seemed 
for a moment checked, but, pushed on by those in the rear, 
the whole now commenced a charge at a " double-quick." Our 
men could not charge back ; but they gave a Southern yell in 
response to the Yankee cheer, and awaited the attack. On 
they came over the sand-hills, tripping and stumbling in the 
huge pits their own shells had dug, until they reached the 
ditch of the battery; then it was but a moment's work for 
those who survived our terrible fire of musketry to clamber up 
the sloping sides of the fortification and attempt to eftect a 



90 THE TIIIED YKAK OF THE WAR. 

lodgment. But the men who met them on the parapet were as 
desperate as themselves, and the contest that ensued was brief 
and bloody. The untagonisls were breast to breast, and South- 
ern rifles and Southern bayonets made short work of human 
life. We could stop to take no prisoners then. The pai-apet 
was lined with dead bodies, wliite and bhxck, and every second. 
was adding to the number. It was one of those rencounters in 
which one side or the other must quickly yield or fly. The 
enemy took their choice. 

In less than five minutes probably, the first line had been 
shot, bayoneted, or were in full retreat — rolling into the ditch 
or dragging their bloody bodies through the sand-hills on their 
hands and knees. But another line came, and another and 
another, each reinforcing its predecessor, until the battle waxed 
hot, fierce, and bloody. . Finally, however, the whole were 
driven back, either into the broad trench at the base of the 
battery, out of reach of our guns, or scampering out of view in 
the darkness of the night. 

There was now a comparative lull in the firing, but in fifteen 
or twenty minutes a second column of Yankees filed down on 
the beach towards the left of the fort in much the same manner 
as that pursued by the first. These repeated the experiment 
that had just before terminated so disastrously to their com- 
panions, and, with a bravery that was worthy of a better 
cause, dashed upon the work. The first assault failed utterly, 
but with the reinforcements that joined the defeated party, 
they came again with such strength and impetuosity that 
between the extreme darkness of the night, which had now 
enveloped the entire scene, the difticulty of distinguishing 
friend and foe, and the confusion incident to such an occasion, 
some two or three hundred, as is estimated, effected a lodg- 
ment in the vicinity of the chambers occupied by two of our 
guns. Most of these were taken prisoners. 

About midnight the enemy gave the order to retire. His 
repulse had been terribly disastrous in loss of life. Ilis killed 
and wounded, according to his own accounts, was fifteen 
hundred and fifty ; and the next day we buried six hundred of 
his dead left on the field. Our own loss was comparatively 
light, not more than one hundred in killed and wounded. 
While the enemy was constrained to fall back upon siege 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR 91 

operations against Fort Wagner, it was determined by Gilmore 
to employ his batteries in the reduction of Fort Sumter, over 
the heads of both "Wagner and Gregg. 

But there was an episode, which was an introduction to 
these operations against Sumter, and which must not be 
omitted here. On the 21st of August, Gihnore addressed to 
General Beauregard a demand, which was curiously without 
signature, for the evacuation of Morris Island and Fort Sumter ; 
stating that Sumter was already doomed to swift and complete 
demolition, and that, if the Confederate commander did not 
comply with his demand within four hours^ a fire would be 
opened on the city of Charleston from batteries already estab- 
lished within easy and effective reach of the heart of the city. 
In the foUowinor night and without further notice fire was 
opened on the city from Morris Island batteries. Twelve 
eiglit-inch shells fell in the city ; several flew in the direction of 
St. Michael's steeple; but fortunately no one was injured. 

Of this atrocious and cowardly episode General Beauregard 
said in a letter addressed to Gilmore : " It would appear, Sir, 
that, despairing of reducing these works, you now resort to the 
novel means of turning your guns against the old men, the 
women and children, and the hospitals of a sleeping city ; an 
act of inexcusable barbarity from your own confessed point of 
sight, inasmuch as you allege that the complete demolition of 
Fort Sumter within a few hours by your guns seems to you a 
matter of certainty ; and your omission to attach your signature 
to such a grave paper must show the recklessness of the course 
upon which you have adventured, while the fact that you 
knowingly fixed a limit for receiving an answer to your de- 
mand, which made it almost beyond the possibility of receiving 
any reply within that time, and that you actually did open fire 
and threw a number of the most destructive missiles ever used 
in war into the midst of a city taken unawares, and filled with 
sleeping women and children, will give you a bad eminence in 
history — even in the history of this war." 

The same day that Gilmore made his feeble attempt to 
execute the threat he had so fiercely and confidently breathed 
against Charleston, he opened heavily against the east face of 
Fort Sumter from his land batteries enfilading it. The can- 
nonade was continued throughout the day, nine hundred and 



92 TnE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

forty-three shots being fired. The effect was to batter the 
eastern face heavily, doing considerable damage, and to disable 
one ten-inch gun and a rifled forty-two pounder. On the 22d 
the enemy threw six hundred and four shots at the fort, dis- 
abling some of the barbette guns, demolishing the arches of the 
north-west face, and scaling the eastern face severely. The next 
day the fire from the enemy's land batteries was kept up on 
Sumter, disabling the only ten-inch columbiad that remained, 
and the three rifled forty-two-pounders in the northern salient 
of the second tier. The eastern face was badly scaled, and the 
parapet seriously injured. The flag-stafi" was twice shot away, 
but the flag each time immediately replaced. 

On the 24th of August General Gilmore announced in des- 
patches to Washington that " Fort Sumter was a shapeless and 
harmless mass of ruins." His chief of artillery reported its 
destruction so far complete that it was no longer of any avail 
in the defence of Charleston. But in this there was some 
mistake. Fort Sumter was in one respect stronger than ever; 
for the battering down of the upper walls had rendered the 
casemated base impregnable, and the immense volume of stone 
and debris which protected it was not at all affected by the 
enemy's artillery. It had been held through the siege and 
cannonade by the First South Carolina artillery, under Colonel 
Alfred Rhett, until its armament had been disabled ; and the 
services of the artillerymen being elsewhere required, General 
Beauregard determined that it should be held by infantry. On 
the night of the 4th of September, the Charleston battalion, 
under ]\Iajor Blake, relieved the garrison ; Major Stephen 
Elliot relieving Colonel Rhett in command of the post. 

In the mean time the enemy's operations on Morris Island 
had fearfully progressed. His sappers had advanced up to the 
very moat of Wagner. On the night of the 4th September the 
enemy kept up a continual fire, and on the morning of the 5tli 
the Ironsides combined her fire with the enemy's land bat- 
teries, all concentrated on Wagner. The eff'ect was to severely 
injure the traverses and communications, and to disable the 
guns and equipments still more effijctually. But Wagner was 
not the only object of this bombardment. During the night 
of the 6th the enemy displayed from the deck of a monitor off 
Morris Island an immense calcium light, and several monitors 



THE TIUliD YKAR OF THE WAR. 93 

soon after moved up and opened on battery Gregg. Moultrie 
and Gregg replied with spirit. At a quarter to two a rocket 
was thrown up, and ere many minutes elapsed, the enemj 
were discerned approaching Morris Island at a point between 
Gregg and Wagner. They had come down in barges through 
a creek west of Morris Island, obviously with the design of as- 
saulting Gregg in the rear. Advancing in line of battle they 
were permitted to come very near, when a nine inch Dahlgren 
opened upon them at short range, with double canister. Our 
howitzers then commenced a fire of shrapnel and canister, 
while our infantry, admirably posted, poured into them a fire 
of musketry. This the Yankees could not withstand, and 
though for a very short while they maintained a fire of mus- 
ketry and grape shot from their bai'ges, they were soon forced 
to withdraw. 

For three days and nights battery Wagner had been sub- 
jected to the most terrific fire that any earthwork had under- 
gone in all the annals of warfare. In these nights the whole of 
Charleston harbor had been lighted up in a scene of terrible 
beauty. From Moultrie almost to Secessionville a whole semi- 
circle of the horizon was lit up by incessant flashes from 
cannon and shell. As peal on peal of artillery rolled across 
the Avaters, one could scarcely resist the belief that not less 
than a thousand great guns were in action. All this went on 
beneath a waning September moon, which, with its warm 
Southern light, mellowed by a somewhat misty atmosphere, 
brought out softly, yet distinctly, the most distant outlines of 
the harbor. 

The efiect of the fire on Wagner had been terrible. The 
immense descending force of the enormous Parrott and mortar 
shells of the enemy had nearly laid the wood work of the 
bombproofs entirely bare, and had displaced the sand to so 
great a degree that the sally-ports were almost entirely blocked 
up. Wagner and battery Gregg had now been held under a con- 
tinued and furious cannonade, by land and sea, for fifty-seven 
days ; two assaults had been signally and gloriously repulsed ; 
the enemy had been forced to expend time, men and material, 
most lavishly in approaching the first ; but at this time he was 
within a few yards of the salient ; most of the guns of the fort 
were injured, transportation and supply had become most 



94: THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

difficult with the inefficient means at our disposal, the possi- 
bility of throwing heavy reinforcenicnts in time to resist an 
assault by the enemy's overwhelming forces, issuing from his 
trenches only a few yards distant, out of the question, and the 
practicability of keeping a sufficient force on tlie island for the 
purpose, under the furious cannonade from land and sea, with- 
out protecting shelter, scarcely less so. This matter had been 
some time under consideration by General Beauregard, and 
after receiving reports concerning the state of the works, and 
our capabilities for reinforcing the garrison, it was determined 
not to subject those brave men, the flower of our force, to the 
desperate chances of assault. Orders were accordingly given, 
on the morning of the 6tli, to prepare for evacuation. 

It commenced about 9 r, m., and was concluded at about 
twelve. The guns of the batteries were spiked and implements 
generally destroyed. Matches were fixed to explode the maga- 
zines, bnt, from some unfortunate cause, botii those at Wagner 
and Gregg failed to explode. The enenjy threw his calcium 
light on Wagner during the whole night, and one of the most 
fnrious bombardments on record, even during this war, was 
continuously kept up while the movements were progressing; 
but he did not ascertain- the evacuation until the last of the 
boats were leaving. Then his guard-boats discovered the 
movement of our boats engaged in the embarkation, and 
creeping up upon the rear succeeded in cutting oft' and cap- 
turing three barges. 

Thus ended the defence of Morris Island — one relieved by 
much of glory to Confederate arms, and its conclusion, as we 
shall soon see, an empty advantage to the enemy. The de- 
fence had been prolonged far beyond what was deemed possi- 
ble at first, and the brave garrisons who had held it deserved 
the admiration of their countrymen. The aggregate of casual- 
ties in the struggle for the Island have been on our side about 
SQven hundred — killed, wounded, and missing. The enemy's 
loss was estimated at several thousand. 

The occupation of Morris Island was the signal to the enemy 
of great but temporary exultation. The Yankee newspapers 
flattered their readers that it was the key of Charleston. But 
the fact was that no one point in its fortification could be so 
called. In the system of Yaughan there was always such a 



THE THIRD YP:AR OF THE WAR, 95 

point; — once taken, it cotnmandccl tlie rest. But the excel- 
lence of the new system of defence, illustrated at Comorn and 
Sebastopol, and repeated at Charleston, was the necessity of a 
siege for every battery, in which the besiegers were always 
exposed to the fire of others. It was easily seen by the Con- 
federates that such a defence, if conducted with courage, by an 
army which could not be surrounded and starved, might be 
easily rendered interminable. 

But such was not the opinion of Gilmorc. On his occupa- 
tion of the island he announced to the exultant authorities at 
"Washington: "The city and harbor of Charleston are now 
completely covered by my guns." Now was the time, de- 
clared the newspapers, for the famons Greek fire to pour de- 
struction npon "the secession city." "General Gilmore," 
said the Baltimore American., " may be expected to roll his 
fire-shells through the streets of Charleston." That com- 
mander had already been experimenting in liquid fire, and in 
a new style of bombs filled with fuses. During the bombard- 
ment of Sumter, in one of his ofilcial despatches he had de- 
clared with devilish complacency : " the projectiles from my 
batteries entered the city of Charleston, and General Beaure- 
gard himself designates them as the most destructive missiles 
used in war." 

But the enemy's fleet was now to appear upon the scene to 
accomplish the reduction of Charleston. General Gilmore had 
proposed — firstly, the occupation of the southern portion of 
Morris Island ; secondly, the capture of Wagner and Gregg ; 
thirdly, the reduction of Sumter. At that point Admiral 
Dahlgren was to take up the work, for it was calculated that 
if Gilmore succeeded in his designs, the navy would find it a 
comparatively easy task to ascend the harbor of Charleston. 

But had the condition as to Sumter been fulfilled? On the 
7th of September Admiral Dahlgren sent in a flag of truce de- 
manding a surrender of the fort. General Beauregard tele- 
graphed to Major Elliot to reply that the Yankees could have 
Fort Sumter when they took it and held it, and that, in the 
mean time, such demands were puerile and unbecoming. 

Dahlgren was left to complete the programme in Charleston 
Harbor, and the North waited to hear that the possession of 
" the shapeless mass of ruins" that had once been Fort Sum- 



96 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

ter was readily accomplished, and that Charleston, the cyno- 
sure of Yankee hatred, was at last the prize of the costly and 
protracted operations. It remained for the Yankee admiral to 
accept the invitation to assault Sumter, and he proposed to do 
so by an elaborate surprise. A special force of picked men 
from all the fleet was organized for a night attack. 

It was midnight of the 8th of September, when the expedi- 
tion, consisting of over twenty boats, and with tliirty-four 
officers and four hundred and thirteen men, of which one 
hundred and twenty were marines, all under the command of 
Commander Stevens, pulled its way silently and cautiously 
towards Fort Sumter. The plan was to assail the fort on three 
sides — one party landing on the gorge-wall, and attempting to 
ascend the debris and gain the parapet ; a second was to at- 
tempt to gain entrance through the lower embrasures, and a 
third was to act as a reserve. 

At half-past one in the morning the first line of boats was 
close upon the fort. The enemy had suj)posed it to be feebly 
garrisoned, and had hoped to find an unguarded moment. 
The garrison consisted of the Charleston Battalion, command- 
by Major Stephen Elliot. They were not asleep. As the 
Yankee boats crept up to the huge and shapeless mass of 
shivered walls, all was dark and still ; the great black rifted 
mound seemed some long-deserted ruin, where the lizards had 
crept into their holes for the night, and the very bats and owls 
had gone to bed. They approached with beating hearts. It 
appeared, indeed, that the hour of doom for Sumter and for 
Charleston was come. 

Suddenly a "fire of hell" streamed from out of the night. 
The stilly ruin becomes as a throat of the bottomless pit ; the 
bay is lighted with signals ; and on the instant, from Fort 
Moultrie and from a gunboat in the harbor, hail of shot and 
shell comes crashing around the barges. 

Major Elliot- had caused his fire to be reserved until the 
enemy was within a few yards of the southern and eastern 
faces upon which the landing was attempted. A close fire of 
musketry devoured those who had landed ; while three of the 
boats were torn to pieces by hand grenades or shells from the 
distant batteries. The garrison lined the walls of Sumter, and 
as the Yankees landed on the rocks, received them with sharp 



THE THIED YEAR OF THE WAK. 97 

volleys of muslvetiy, which added confusion to their already 
bewildered movements. A strong party of the enemy now 
hastily gathered and made an attempt to climb over the ruins 
of the sally-port, which had been torn down by the tremen- 
dous fire of their land batteries. Our men received them 
breast to breast, pelting them with brickbats and pouring in a 
spattering shower of balls. Some bolder than the others, dashed 
forward, and seizing Yankees, one in each hand, dragged them 
by main force inside. Thus the fight raged for twenty or 
thirty minutes, when the Yankees, finding themselves over- 
powered, and likely to be cut to pieces, threw down their 
arms, retreated to the shelter of the walls and surrendered. 
Those who remained in the boats, not already landed, made 
their escape under the cover of the night, followed, however, 
by the spiteful balls of the batteries of Moultrie and of the 
gunboat Chicora. 

I^ot a life was lost on our side. Major Elliot succeeded in 
securing five boats, five stand of colors, twelve officers, and 
one hundred and nine men, including two officers and seven- 
teen men wounded. Amongst the captured colors was a worn 
and torn garrison-flag, reported by some of the prisoners as 
being that which Major Anderson was permitted to take from 
the fort, on the occasion of his being compelled to surrender, 
in April, 1861. This had been brought to hoist on the fort,' 
and to be made the subject of boast and Yankee "sensation " 
had the assault succeeded. " It was," says a Charleston paper, 
" the identical ' gridiron ' carried from Fort Sumter in 1861 ; 
exhibited to a monster mass meeting in JS'ew York shortly 
after ; talked, cheered, and prayed over until almost sanctified • 
wrapped around the gouty limbs of General Scott, and finally 
brought back under oath* that it should be victoriously 
replanted on the walls where it was first lowered in recoo-ui- 
tion of the Southern Confederacy." ^ 

This unsuccessful attempt to' open the way to Charleston, 
leaves but little to record of the operations of the enemy 
against this famous city. Those operations were to be nomi- 
nally continued for many long and weary months ; there were 
daily bulletins of bombardments; but the more intelligent 
persons of the North were not to be deceived by the noisylnd 
expensive display, and readily came to the conclusion that the 

7 



98 THE THIRD YEAR OF THR WAIJ. 

siege of Charleston was a failure, and that, despite Dahlgren's 
noisy protest, it was virtually abandoned. Months were to 
pass, and the Yankee admiral was to make no attempt to 
■move up the harbor and complete not only the remaining part 
of the expedition, but that which he had promised to do when 
he assumed command of the fleet. 

It is unnecessary to pursue here the desultory record of a 
fruitless bombardment. The Yankee public had had such a 
series of emotions, surprises, and disappointments about 
Charleston, that it sickened of the name, and seemed to be 
fast progressing to the opinion that the monitors were a fail- 
ure, that their Parrott guns and monster artillery had been 
greatly overrated, and that sand-bank fortifications were sub- 
stantially impregnable to their vaunted artillery. " How 
many times," asked an indignant Philadelphia paper, " has 
Fort Sumter been taken ? How many times has Charleston 
been burned ? How often have the people been on the eve of 
starvation and surrender ? How many times has the famous 
Greek fire poured the rain of Sodom and the flames of hell 
upon the secession city ? We cannot keep the count — though 
those can who rang the bells and put out the flags, and 
invoked the imprecations, and rejoiced at the story of confla- 
gration and ruin." 

We must leave here the story of Charleston : the city safe 
beneath the pale autumn sky, with the waters of its beautiful 
bay un vexed by the busy keel of commerce, yet sleeping 
quietly ; while across them might be seen the Yankee flag 
floating from the parapet of Wagner, then the enemy's bat- 
teries, still beyond these the white' tents of the enemy, and 
further yet, over the woods of James Island, the masts of the 
fleet. A large besieging force w^s in sight of the spires of 
Charleston, and yet the city was safe, and proclaimed to the 
Confederacy new lessons of brilliant courage and hope. 

We have referred to the period which this chapter traverses 
as one of encouraging events for the South. The reader's 
attention must be turned back from the coast to the fields of 
the West, for another in the list of successes which made this 
period fortunate. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 99 



morgan's expedition into INDIANA AND OHIO. 

The command of General Morgan, consisting of detachments 
from two brigades, numbering two thousand and twenty-eight 
effective men, witli four pieces of artillery — two Parrotts and 
two howitzers — left Sparta, Tennessee, on the 27th of June, 
and crossed the Cumberland near Burkesville on the 2d July. 

On the 4th of July, the expedition took up the line of march 
for Green river bridge. An attack was here made upon the 
enemy, who were found to be posted in a strong position, pro- 
tected by well constructed stockades. On account of the 
superior strength of the works our forces failed to carry the 
position. 

From Green river bridge Mor-^an next directed his atten- 
tion to the town of Lebanon. He encamped within five miles 
of the place on the night of the 4th. He at once demanded 
the surrender of the place, which was refused by the Yankee 
officer in command of the post. A heav}'- engagement ensued 
next day, which lasted, with considerable spirit, for some 
hours, the Yankees stubbornly resisting, firing from the 
houses. Finally a charge was ordered, and the town was 
captured, together with the whole Yankee force, consisting of 
about six hundred eflfective men, together with a large amount 
of stores, arms, &c. In the charge was killed Lieutenant Thos. 
Morgan, a brother of the general, who was shot through the 
heart. He fell at the very first volley. His only words were, 
" Brother Cally, they have killed me." 

The commandant of the post was Colonel Hanson, a brother 
of General Hanson, who had fallen on our side at Murfrces- 
boro'. He had behaved with extraordinary gallantry. When 
a surrender was demanded by Morgan, at his first approach. 
Colonel Hanson quietly remarked, " If it was any other day 
he might consider the demand, but the 4th of July was a bad 
day to talk about surrender, and he must, therefore, decline." 
His command had been raised in the heart of the Blue Grass 
region, and among them were brothers and other near relatives 
of Morgan's own men. This unnatural encounter between 
men of the same blood and same family — a painful incident 
of all the Kentucky campaigns — was heightened in its horri- 



100 THK THIRD YKAK OF TIIK WAR. 

blc ferocity by the death of (Jenernl Morgan's brother, a favor- 
ite of his comrades, who undertook to revenge his death, and 
who were witli ditticulty restrained by tlieir otKcers from the 
indiscrimiinitc sjanghter of tlie enemy and ])illage of the town. 

It is to be rennirived that, in all his expeditions, General 
Morgan restrained his men from all outrages, and was very 
severe u[)on those had nuMi inseparable from adventures of his 
sort, and who accompanied them simi>ly for })lnnder. But the 
day before the Lebanon iight, a terrible incident had occurred 
in his little army. An ollicerof the expedition, whose journal 
lies before us, writes of this occurrence : " About three o'clock, 
as I rode on abt)ut forty yards in advance, 1 heard the general 
exclaim something in a very excited tone which I couKl not 
understand ; ami heard at the same time the rc})ort of a pistol. 
1 turned, and. great (u>d ! ^o my horror, I saw (captain ]\la- 
gonnis falling t'rom his horse, with the blood rushing out of his 
iuouth and breast. I Fis oidy remark was, 'Let me down easy.' 
Li anotlier moment his s))irit had lied, lie was killed by 
Captain Murphy, because Magcnnis, by the direction of (ien- 
eral IMorgan, had ordered Murphy to restore a watch taken 
from a prisoner." 

Leaving Lebanon, Morgan i)roceeded to Bardstown, where 
he captured some cavalry, advanced then upon the Louisville 
and Nashville railrood, and next reached Garncttsville, when 
a feint was nuide upon the city of Louisville, whilst prepara- 
tions were on foot to elVect a crossing of the Ohio river. A 
scouting party was sent to the river at JJrandensburg, at which 
point two steamers were captured. Here the command effected 
a crossing of the river, after a severe iight with the enemy. 
They captured about one hundred Home Guards, one rilled 
twelve-pounder piece, and successfully repulsed two gunboats. 

On the 8th of July, Morgan's little connnand stood on the 
Boil of Indiana. He immediately took up the line of march 
for the town of Corydon, where he captured about 000 militia 
and some few regular soldiers. Salem was the next point 
which invited his attention, where an immense amount of 
damage was iuliicted upon the enemy by the destruction of 
railroad property, bridges, depots, stores, &c. 

The expedition from this point visited the interior of the 
State, and wiis enabled to tind any i|uantity of work to per- 



TIIIC TIIIKI) YKAK OK 'I 1 110 WAK. 101 

form, which cmbracccl tlio dcsti-iiction of vast unionntsof i)ub- 
lic property, sucli an niilroadw, bridges, depots, and govern- 
ment stores generally. 

At Salens Morgan first learned from the telegraph wires 
of the tremendous exeitement hh unexampled invasion had 
created, and the station and numbers of the enemy around Ibr 
the hunt. He discovered that Indiaua,polis was running over 
with them— that New Albany eontaiiied 1 (>,()(>(»— that :{,0()() 
l)ad just arrived at Mitchell— and, in fact, 25,()()(> men were 
armed and ready to meet ihe "bloody invader." 

Morgan moved rapidly forward to Lexington, thence to Ver- 
non, and iVom Vernon to Versailles, scattering destruction and 
dismay along the route. Near the latter phace, an amusing 
and characteristic incident occurred. A Presbyterian chap- 
lain, in Morgan's command, captured an entire comi)any of 
militia. He was inoving ahead, when he found that he had 
llaidvcd the advance, and run upon a full con)pany of State 
militia. Imitating his commander's demeanor, he boldly rode 
up to the company and inquired for the captain. Jieing in- 
formed that there was a dispute as to who should lead them, 
he volunteered his services, ex])atiating largely upon the ])art 
he had played as an Jndiami cai)tain at Shiloh, and was soon 
elected to lead the valiant lloosiers against "the invading 
rebs." Twenty minutes spent in drilling, inspinid complete 
coniidence; and when the advance guard of Morgan's com- 
mand had passed without Captain P. permitting the lloosiers 
to lire, he ordered them into the road, and surrendered them 
to our command. CrcHt-fallen, indeed, were the Yaid^ees; but 
General Morgan treated them kindly, and, returning to them 
their guns, advised them to go home and not come hunting 
such game again, as they had every thing to lose and nothing 
to gain by it. 

Leaving the State of Indiana, Cieneral Morgan struck the 
Ohio line at a jjlace called Harrison. Here he comi)letely 
destroyed a very long bridge of great strength and value. A 
feint was here made uj)on Cincinmiti. The whole Ohio coun- 
try, in this direction, is che([uered over with railroads, and the 
Attention of the expedition was particularly directed to these. 
Immense damage was thus inllicted upon the enem3^ The 
Mississippi and Ohio railroad was greatly injured- Tiie com- 



102 THE THIRD TKAR OF THK "WAR. 

mjiiul approached within eight miles of the city of Cincinnati, 
and it is saitl that Bonic of Morgan's sconts were within the 
snbnrbs of the city. 

On the march, the command bore to tlie left of the city, 
striking the little Miami railroad, captnring a valuable train 
of cars soon after reaching the road, together with about 200 
Federal soldiers. The train was, of course, destroyed, which 
was the usual disposition made of such captures. 

After passing Cincinnati, Morgan next went in the direc- 
tion of Camp Denison, upon which ])oint he made another 
feint for the purpose of deceiving the enemy, who were at this 
time harassing him as he proceeded. Leaving the neighbor- 
hood of Camp Denison, he proceeded through the interior of 
the State, o})eratiiig upon an extensive scale, in destroying the 
railroails in which that section abounds. 

li.pon arriving near the town x:)f Pomeroy, another feint was 
hero resorted to. The numerous roads in this section were 
generally very eifectively blockaded, and much difficulty was 
experienced in overcoming these obstacles. Near Pomeroy 
General Morgan encountered a force of the enemy of several 
thousand men, consisting of infantry, cavalry, and artillery. 
Whilst the skirmishers were engaged at this point, the main 
body of the comnuuid moved around the town to the left, with 
the view of reaching the river, which they accomplished about 
daylight on the morning of the 18th of July, at Buffington 
Island. Here the enemy came up with them, with a strong 
force, assisted by gunboats in the river, which prevented a 
crossing at this point. 

The rear guard of the expedition held the enemy in check, 
whilst the main body was enabled to move oti' from the river, 
to a point further up, called Belleville. Here another effort 
was nu\de to cross. About two hundred of the command had 
succeeded in crossing the river when the gunboats again mado 
their a})pearance, and also a force of cavalry and infantry, 
evidently' the same which had opposed them at Buffington. 
Only two men were drowned of the number which attcmjited 
to cross the river. j\[org:in being thus })revented from crossing 
his whole command, those who effected a crossing succeeded 
in keeping the gunboats at bay until he could remove his force 
to a point higher up the river. The enemy claimed to have 



JUK THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 103 

taken seventeen liuiidred prisoners in tlie running figlit. At 
any rate, tlie lew hundred wIjo liad crossed the Ohio, tlius 
cut off from the main body, l»ad no other alternative left tiiem 
but to make their way as they best could to the Confederate 
lines, which they succeeded in doing — passing through tiie 
mountains of West Virginia to Lewisburg, near which place 
they encamped. 

Morgan and about two hundred of his men had broken 
through the enemy's lines, on the north side of tlie Ohio. JIo 
had by some means got into a carriage. A Yankee major saw 
him, and, galloping up, reached for him. Morgan jumped out 
at the other side of the carriage, leaped over a fence, seized 
a horse, and galloped off as fast as horse-flesh conld carry 
him. < 

The fugitive commander, with the remainder of his scat- 
tered forces, pressed three citizens of Salineville into their 
Bcrvice as guides, and continued tlieir flight on the New J^isbon 
road. One of the impressed guides made his escape and rode 
back, conveying intelligence of the route taken, whicli it was 
believed was with the nltimate design of reaching the Ohio 
river higher uj). Forces were immediately despatched from 
Wellesville to head liim off, whilst another force followed hotly 
in his rear, and a strong militia force from New Lisbon came 
down to meet him. 

About two o'clock, in the afternoon, these various detach- 
ments closed in around Morgan in the vicinity of West Point, 
about midway between New Lisbon a>id Wellesville. The 
Confederates were driven to a bluff from which there was no 
esca))e, except by fighting their way through or leaping from 
a lolty and almost ])er})en(licidar ])reeipice. Finding them- 
selves thus cooped, Morgan surrendered himself and the rem- 
nant of his command. 

We shall have occasion elsewhere to refer to the enemy's 
treatment of this distinguished captive. It is sufficient to con- 
elude for the presentour narrative of this remarkable expedition 
to say, that its brave and generous leader and his officers were 
confined in felons' cells in the Ohio Penitentiary ; were sub- 
jected to cruelties at which the blood runs cold ; and that on 
the 20th day of November, Morgan and six of his officers 
escaped from the confinement and torture of their infamous 



104 



Tii!<: 'rii:ui) vicak oi^' tiik wak. 



})rison. The}' had dug out of their cells with small knives, 
al'tor weeks of coiiHtaut toil. Morgan lel't behind to his enemy 
an account of his toil and escape, "with two small knives," 
with this legend: " La patience c'ext aimre^ 'nials son fruit es 
'loaxy '' 1 'alienee is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." 

So far from Morgan's exj)edition being accounted a failure, 
on account of its terminalit)n in a surremler, it is to be taken 
as one of the most IVuitful and brilliant of Confederate suc- 
cesses. There were persons who accused him of rashness in 
crossing the Ohio. Hut those who prefei-red this flippant 
acc'usation j)robaijlj did not know that although the passage 
of the Ohio was not, at the outset, a part of General Morgan's 
])n)gi-ammo, it created an important diversion of Burnsido's 
anil)', large detachments ol" which were drawn after Morgan 
into and through Kentucky ; })revented the Yankee general 
froiii marchiii'r on Knowille and trettiny; in rear of Ih-aiJCii's 
army, then nuMiaced in front by Kosecrans, at Shelby ville; 
thus disi'onci'rted the ^'ankc^e cami)aign in the West, and de- 
hiyed its oj)erations for many valuable weeks. 

It is true that Morgan lost about two" thousand jirisoiiers. 
r.ul, for this number addcnl to the Yankee exchange list, lie had 
exacted an immense and brilliant compensation. With twenty- 
five hundred men he traversed two enormous States from 
end to end — occupied their towns almost at }>leasurt — cut 
their i)rinci])al arteries of communication, burnt depots, de- 
stroyed engines, sunk steamboats imiumerable. He threw 
several millions of people into frantic consternation for the 
safety of their ]>roperty, turned entire populations into fugi- 
tives, and comp.elled several thousand men to leave their occu- 
pations for weeks and go under arms— only as an equivalent 
to him and his twenty-live hundred troops, lie paroled near 
six thousand Yankees, they obligating themselves not to take 
\\\> arms during the war. He destroyed thirty-four imj^ortant 
bridges, destroying the track in sixty jibu^es. His loss was by 
no means sliglit: twenty-eight commissioned olHcers killed, 
thirty -five wounded, and two hundred and fifty men killed and 
M'oundetl. Wy the Yankee accounts he killed more than two 
hundred, wounded at least three hundred and fifty, and (cap- 
tured, as before stated, near six thousand. The damage to 
railroads, steamboats, and bridges, added to the destruction 



THE THIRD YKAK OF THK WAR. V'o 

of public stores and depots, was not less tlian ten millions of 
dollars. 

This brilliant expedition taught Confederates the value of ad- 
venture. "Want of enterprise had been tlie curse of the South 
in war as in peace; and the counsels of the war in the Confed- 
eracy had been too much to the effect that it must do nothin"" 
but parry — that it must never presume to thrust. However 
unwelcome the ultimate misfortune of GeneraVf Morgan, it 
did not rob his expedition of its glory, or its profit to the 
Confederacy. 



106 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



CllArTER V. 

' Contrnst betw6on onr Military Fortuiios in tlio East and in tho West. — Some 
Roasons for our Success in Virsj;iirui. — Hor Hearty Oo-openvtioii with tiio Confederate 
Autliorities. — Her Contributions to the War. — Uencral ]ira<j<r'8 Situation in Tciines- 
800. — Confederato criticisms on General Kosocrans. — Opinion of the " (jliattanoofja 
Kebel." — An Extensive \U>venieiil Contemplated by Koseorana. — Braf^tr's Ketreat to 
Cbattanoof^a. — Tlie Yankees on a l>ouble l^ine of Operatious. — Huekncr's ICvacualion 
of Knoxviile. Tnic SuititicNnKu oi<" CuMisKiti.ANn (!ai'. — I'resident Davis' Comment 
on the Surrender. — Tnic Hattlks or Ciuckamauoa. — Brag}j;s' Evacuation of Ciiatta- 
iioo^a. — Topofifraphy of the Katllo-tield. — Tlionuis's Column of Yankees in McLemore's 
Covo. — Disobodienco of Orders by l^ieutenant-fieneral Hill of the Confederates. — 
Brajjj^'a Orders to Lieutcnantjreneral I'olk. — Two Opportunities Lost. Note: 
Kra,irf,''s Secret and Ollicial lvei>ort of tlie Miscarriaf,'o of His Plans.— The First Day's 
Engaffcment on tho Chickamaufiu. — Second Day.— General I'olk'a Fif;fht on our 
liijjht. — Longstroot's Successful Attack on tlie Left. — Tho Grand Char<;o. — Rout of 
the Enemy. — IjOn^strool's Mcssafje to Hraijj?. — Forrest Up a Tree.— Bragg Declines to 
rursue. — His Hesitation and Error. — His Movement upon Chattanooga. — Boast of 
Kosecrans. — An Empty Victory for tho Confcdcratois. — Bragg's A\vk\vard I'auso. — 
Discussions of tho Campaign. — His Supposeil Investment of Chattanooga. — Two 
Blunders of tho Confederate Commander. — Chickamauga a Second Edition of Bull 
Kun. Note : Observations of a (icneral Oliicer of the Confederate States Army ou 
the Campaign in tlio West. 

Tknnksssek was a conspicuous theatre of the war, but one of 
strange misfortune to the Confederates. We have in preceding 
volumes of this work, ami at diiVoront periods in the history of 
the war, referred to the marked and striking contrast between 
our military fortunes in the East and in the West. True, the 
picture was not entirely free from lights and shadows on either 
Bide. Koanoke Island somewhat mai-red the one, M'hile the tirst 
day of Shiloh, the brilliant forays of Morgan, Wheeler, and 
Forrest, and the unexpected success with which, for more than 
a year, Yicksburg delied three successive expeditions, until an 
evil star shed its malignant intluence over her, lighted up tlie 
sombre tints of the other. The steady tendency and actual re- 
sult on each side was, however, clear and unmistakable. Two 
years ago our army was encamped at Bowling Green, and our 
batteries, on the beetling cliti' of Columbus, scowled defiance 
to Cairo. From the time General Johnston fell back from 



THE 'IIIIRD YEAR OF TIIK WAR. 107 

Bowling Green, a dark and bloody struggle ensued, which cnl- 
minatcd in the disasters of ]*ragg's Kentucky campaign. The 
battle of" MurtVeesboro', in which we won a brilliant victory, on 
the 31 St of December, 1862, afterwai-ds proved .but a drawn 
battle, and on the night of the 2(1 of .lanuary following, the 
Oonl'cderates had retreated to Tullahoina. 

The remarkable and persistent contrast between our military 
affairs in the West and those east of the Alleghanies, especially 
on the grand theatre of Virginia, aftbrds a curious study for 
the future and elaborate historian of the war. But some par- 
tial explanation of it is to be found in obvious circumstances. 
The army of Virginia was undoubtedly superior in com])osition 
to that of the AVest. The Virginia troo])s — it may be said with- 
out invidiousness, where there is so much of common glory for 
every member of the Confederate army — were especially com- 
plimented by General Lee for a remarkable union of s})irit and 
traetal/dity, whicli made them the best soldiery in the world. 
And it may be said emphatically, that no other State, whose 
soil was the theatre of war, had exhibited such haj)py accord, 
and such thorough and generous co-oj)eration with the (Confed- 
erate authoi'ity as had Virginia. It is in the cii-cumstance of 
this zealous and devoted co-oj)eratiori of Virginia with ihe Con- 
federate authority — in contrast with the conduct of certain 
other States, in whose borders was pitched the theatre of war — 
that we shall especially find an explanation for those triumphs 
of the common arms of the South, which so frequently and so 
uniformly graced her soil. 

No embarrassments of party politics, no indecent bickerings 
of demagogues, chilled the zeal of Virginia, or divided her ef- 
forts in the war. From the beginning of the contest she had 
poured out a lavish stream of contributions to every necessity 
of the general government. In the fall of 18G3, it was othcially 
reported in her legislature, that she had already furnished. 
102,915* soldiers to the Confederate service, and that, in ad- 
dition, thirty thousand conscripts had just passed through the 
camp of instruction, and that she had issued in this time, 
103,840 muskets, 399 pieces of cannon, and other arms in pro- 
portion. 

* Statement of the Number of Troops Furnished the Confederate States by the 



108 THE THIK1> YKAK OV TlIK WAR. 

In julvortiiii;- to tlu> t'orlunos in\H)lved by the fall of Viclcs- 
l>ur^li, wo luive ahviuly said, that (nMUM-al Brao-i^'s army in 
3\muu'!?soc had boon oonsidorably woakonod by drafts npon it 
to reinforce the linos in tho Southwest. lie was in a critical 
condition at Tnllahoma. Ivosocraiis had nearly double his nuni- 
bors in his lV(Uit, and l>urnsido, who ct)nunandod what tho 
Tankoos called the Army of the Cumberland, M-asin a position, 
by an advance towards Knoxville, to threaten his rear. 

Kosocrans, whoso name is coupled with so much of tho mil- 
itary history o\' the AVest, enjoyed a divided reputation in tho 
Confederacy, boiiiij; esteemed by many as tlio most skilful and 
formida|)le of Yankee ii,onorals, and by others, as a lucky mil- 
itary adventurer, who would soon run his career o[' i^ood 
fortune. In the early sta«^es of the war, ho liad made i^reat 
reputation by his successes over Leo in Western Vir^-inia, tho 
latter boin^ taken quite out of his element, in a contracted 
mountain warfare, and beiu'jj easily bewildered by a nnin who, 
as an itinerary sjH'culatiu-, a poildlor in "oil si)rings," had nuido 
liimsoU' minutely familiar with those mountains, lie was now 
at the head of the I'lass in President Lincoln's academy, for tho 
irraduation of youuii- and sudden lield-nuirshals. In the Do- 
partment of Tonnossoo his star had been in the asconilant ; ho 
luid yet to sustain a defeat ; but such fortune, said those who 
disputed his generalship, was simply that likely to attend tho 
march of a much superior army i>f well-disciplined western 
troops, against a snudl yrmy of brave and j^ationt, but badly 
handled Confederates. The Chattanooga Jitbel quoted against 



Siatf of Virffiuia, an takrn from th<- first lidh> on file in the Adjutant and 
Insptctor-geinral' s Ojficc. 

Sixty-four rogimoiits infantry 53,49(5 

Twenty rogimonts nival ry 14,175 

Two roginionts nrtilkMT 1,771) 

Twonty-ciglitlmttalions, cavnlry, infantryand artillory. . 11,717 

, Nine battnlious artillery. Army NortluMU Virjiiuia 4,500 

Two huuiirt'il and fourttvn unattaolu'il oounMUiies, artil- 

liTy. infantry and cavalry 18,348 

Total numbor of mon 102,JH5 

Tho alnno st«t(Mnont doos not onibraco tlio ivcruits or conscripts furnishoO 
by the !St«to of Virginia. 
October, \i'C>S. 



TIIK TllIKI) YKAK OK TIIK WAK. 109 

him a vul;j;;u-, Liit trito uxiotn, uiiiong tlic 1)U(;l<w()0(l8men of 
Teiinc'saco : " Tluire Ib no telling llio luck of u lousy cull" — ho 
lives all tlici vviiil((i-, und diub in tli(i Hpriii;^." 

KoKocruiiH was now to toHt Iuh <^(!ii(;ral.slii|> hy one of tlio 
most extensive movements in the West: the 0(;eu})ation of 
East Tennessee, and a movement IIkmicc; into the heart of the 
cotton States. This military llei-eules, said a Northiirn pajx-r, 
liad, of all otliers, been seleeted to "drive a wedge into the 
centi'c! of iJic! (>onfederaey." 

Since his retreat to Tnllahoma (J(!neral Th'M^-g liad advanced 
to ^V'artracc! and Shelby vili(^, and was appariiiitiy ready to *;ive 
tlu! enemy battle, A j)orti()n of his lorces liavin*^ becui witli- 
drawn to Mississippi, he considered that he was Icjft as a nH;i'e 
army of observation. The enemy at hist sn(;ceede(l in sni'j>rislng 
our forces at liberty and Hoover's (laps by a llank movinnent, 
and Genei'al r>ra<>'<i^, to sav(! his army, fell back, on the 'JTth of 
June, to Chattanooga. The enemy followed at leisure to the 
banks of the Tennessee. 

The enemy's advance on Cliattanooga was in two columns, 
on a double line of oi)erations — Kosecrans moving on (/hatta- 
nooga, and l>urnside moving on iuioxviile. Tt was thought to 
be necessary that the exposed left ilaid< of Rosecrans' army 
should be covered wliile he made a right swinging movement 
on Chattanooga, and this a]>j)ear(!(l to be the whole ])urpose of 
the co-operation of Ihirnside's column. The possession of 
Knoxville, under the (;ircumstances, was not supposed to he of 
vital moment, for, (Chattanooga in the enemy '3 i)osse8si()n, 
Knoxville and the whole line was turned and fell of its weight. 

On the 20th of August, it Avas ascHirtained certainly that 
Hosecrans had crossed the mountains to Stevenson and Jiridixc;- 
port. His force of eifective infantry and ai'tillery amounted 
to fully 70,0(M), divided into four (!()ri)S. About the sanm time 
(Jeneral l>urnside advanced from Kentucky towards Knoxville, 
East. Tennessee, with a force estimated by the (Jenei-al com- 
manding that dej)artmt!nt at over i{.^),0()0. In view of the great 
supc;ri(n-ity of numbers brought jigainst him, Cenciral Ihickner 
concluded to evacuate Knoxville, and with a force of about 
5000 infantry and artillery, and his cavalry, took })osition in 
the vicinity of Jjoudon, Two ])rigades of liis command, Krazier's 
at Cundjerland Cap and Jackson's in ^Northeast Tennessee, 



110 THE TIIIK'D YKAR OF THE WAR. 

were thus severed from us. The enemy having already ob- 
tained a lodgment in East Tennessee by another route, the 
continued occupation of Cumberland Gaj) became very hazard- 
ous to the garrison and comparatively unimportant to us. Its 
evacuation was accordingly ordered, but on the appeal of its 
commander, stating his resources and ability for defence, favor- 
ably endorsed by Major-General Buckner, the orders were 
suspended on the 31st of August. The main body of our army 
was encamped near Chattanooga, whilst the cavalry force, 
much reduced and enfeebled by long service ou short rations, 
was recruiting in the vicinity of Rome, Georgia. 



THE SURRENDER OF CUMBERLAND GAP. 

We may anticipate our narrative to say here that Cumber- 
land Gap was surrendered on the 9th of September by General 
Frazier ; a garrison, consistin-g of four regiments, about two 
thousand men, and fourteen pieces of artillery being uncon- 
ditionally surrendered to the enemy without firing a gun. 

The first demand for a surrender was made on the 5th by 
the Yankee General Shackelford ; and Colonel De Courcy 
having come up with a brigade on the Kentucky side, renewed 
the demand on the evening of the 9th September. General 
Frazier replied under flag of truce, asking De Courcy the 
number of forces to which he was ordered to surrender. De 
Courcy replied nearly twelve o'clock at night, refusing to give 
the number of forces under his command, stating that it was 
from motives entirely disconnected with the attack upon the 
gap that he did so. General Frazier then refused to surrender, 
and it was understood that the fight would open at twelve 
o'clock the next day. A council of the commanding officers of 
regiments was called, which resulted in the refusal of all to be 
surrendered. A majority preferred the risk of cutting their 
way through the Yankee lines to being surrendered on any 
terms. A fight was therefore confidently expected. Near 
twelve o'clock on "Wednesday, the 9th, when all was in anxious 
expectation for the fight to open. General Frazier received from 
Burnside, under flag of truce, a demand for the unconditional 
surrender of himself and his command. Very soon after its 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. ' 111 

reception, one of General Frazier's aid-de-camps came in great 
haste down the mountain and ordered the battle-flag down, 
and a white one to be hoisted in its stead.* 

This surrender was declared bj the Richmond Dujpatch to 
be " one of the most disgraceful occurrences of the war," In 
a message to Congress President Davis said of it : " The coun- 
try was painfully surprised by the intelligence that the officer 
in command of Cumberland Gap had surrendered that import- 
ant and easily defensible pass without firing a shot, upon the 
summons of a force still believed to have been inadequate to 
its reduction, and when reinforcements were within supporting 
distance, and had been ordered to his aid. The entire garri- 
son, including the commander, being still held prisoners by the 
enemy, I am unable to suggest any explanation of this disas- 
ter, which laid open eastern Tennessee and south-western Vir- 
ginia to hostile operations, and broke the line of communica- 
tion between the seat of government and middle Tennes- 
see." 



* The following communication with respect to this surrender was published 
in the Richmond newspapers from Major McDowell, one of the officers of the 
garrison. 

" Various statements have been made in regard to the conduct of the troops 
composing the command at Cumberland Gap. I assert most positively that I 
have yet to see troops in finer spirits, or more determined to hold their ground 
than the troops in the gap. I have learned that an attempt is being made to 
justify the surrender of the gap upon the ground that the troops in the gap 
would not fight, and that some of them shouted when the flag was ordered 
down. The last charge was made against the Sixty-second North Carolina regi- 
ment. The first is false, and the second not only false, but is a base and cowardly 
eflTort to protect those that may be guilty at the expense of the innocent, brave, 
patriotic and true. We were surrendered, then, to General Burnside on 
Wednesday, the 9th, at 4 o'clock p. m. Many made their escape after the 
surrender. We had when we were surrendered provisions upon which we 
could have subsisted thirty days. We had all the ammunition on hand that 
we had when the gap was first invested. My regiment had 150 rounds to the 
man, and I presume other regiments had the same. K the surrender was a 
matter of necessity, it was from causes other than a want of provisions, 
ammunition, or a willingness on the part of the men to do their duty." 



112 TIIK TIllUO YKAU OF THK WAR. 



TIIIO BATTLK8 OF CIIIOKAMAUGA. 

Before proeeedini>" to discuss those movements, by which the 
forces of Rosecrans and of Bragg at last joined in decisive bat- 
tle, a topographical coup d'ceil is necessary. 

The Cumberhind range is a h^ft}' mass of rocks, separating 
the M'aters which lh)w into the Cumberhmd from those which 
flow into the Tennessee, and extending from beyond the Ken- 
tu(d<y line in a sonth-westcrly direction nearly to Athens, 
Ahibama. The Seqnatchie Valley is along the river of that 
name, and is a canon or deep cut splitting the Cumberland 
range ])arallel to its length. 

Chattanooga commands the southern entrance into Tennes- 
see, and is one of tlie great gateways through mountains to 
the champaign counties of Georgia and Alabama. It is situ- 
ated on the Tennessee river, at the mouth of the Chattanooga 
Valley — a valley following the course of the Chattanooga 
creek, and formed by Lookout Mountain and Missionary 
Jlidge. The former is a vast palisade of rocks, rising twenty- 
four hundred feet above the level of the sea, in abrupt rocky 
cliffs, from a steep, wooded base. East of Missionary Ridge, 
and running parallel with it, is another valley — Chickamauga 
Valley — following the course of Chickamauga creek, which, 
with the Chattanooga creek, discharges its waters into the 
Tennessee river — the first above, and the last below the town 
of Chattanooga, and has with it a common source in ]\[cLe- 
more's Cove — the common head of both valleys, and formed 
by Lookout Mountain on the west, and Pigeon Mountain to 
the east. "Wills' Valley is a narroM' valley lying to the west 
of Chattanooga, formed by Lookout Mountain and Sand 
Mountain, and traversed by a railroad, which takes its name 
from the valley, and which, branching from the Nashville and 
Chattanooga Railroad, where the latter crosses the valley, has 
its present terminus at Trenton, and future at Tuscaloosa, 
Alabama. The wagon-road from Chattanooga to Rome, 
known as the Lafayette road, crosses Missionary Ridge into 
Chickamauga Valley at Rossville, and, proceeding in a south- 
westerly direction, crosses Chickamauga creek, eleven miles 
from Chattanooga, at Leo and Gordon's Mills, and, passing to 



TIIIO TinUT) YKAR OF THE WAK. .113 

the cast of Pigeon Mountain, goes through Lafayette, distant 
Boino twcjity-two miles from Chattanooga, and Sunimcrville 
within twenty-live miles of Home. 

Immediately after crossing the mountains to the Tennessee, 
the enemy threw a corps by the way of Sequatchie Valley to 
Btrike the rear of General Uuckner's command, whilst ]Jurn- 
eide occupied him in front. One division, already ordered to 
his assistance, proving insufficient to meet the force concen- 
trating on him, Buckner was directed to withdraw to the 
Iliawassee with his infantry, artillery, and supplies, and to 
liold his cavalry in front, to check the enemy's advance. As 
Boon as this change was made, the corps threatening his rear 
was withdrawn, and the enemy commenced a movement in 
force against our left and rear. On the last of August it be- 
came known that he had crossed his main force over the Ten- 
nessee river at or near Caperton's Ferry, the most accessible 
])oiiit from Stevenson. l)y a direct route, he was now as near 
our main depot of sup})lies as we were, and our wliolc line of 
communication was exposed, while his own was partially 
secured by mountains and the river. By the timely arrival of 
two snniU divisions from Mississip])i, our effective force, 
exclusive of cavalry, was now a little over thirty-five thousand, 
with which it was determined to strike on the first favorable 
opportunity. Closely watched by our cavalry, which had 
been brought forward, it was soon ascertained that the 
enemy's genei'al movements were towards our left and rear, in 
the direction of J)alton and Rome, keeping Lookout Mountain 
between us. The nature of the country, and the want of sup- 
plies in it, with the presence of Burnside's force on our right, 
rendered a movement on the enemy's rear, with our inferior 
force, extremely hazardous, if not impracticable. It was now, 
therefore, determined to meet him in front whenever he should 
emerge from the mountain gorges. To do this and liold Chat- 
tanooga was impossible, Avithout such a division of our small 
force as to endanger both parts. Accordingly, our troops 
were put in motion on the 7th and 8th of Se})tcniber, and took 
position from Lee and (Jordon's Mills to Ltifayctte, on the road 
leading south from Chattanooga, and fronting the east slope of 
Lookout Mountain. 

On Monday, September 7th, Lieutenant-general D. 11. Hill 

8 



ll-i TifK TirrKn ykak of thk wak. 

was ordered to move Avitli liis corps to Lafayette, and General 
Polk to Lee and (iordon's Mills, and ]\Iajor-general liuckner, 
with the army of East Tennessee, and Majur-general Walker, 
with liis division IVoni the army of Mississi{)})i, to concentrate 
at Lafayette, and J}ri<^adier-general l*egram to cover the rail- 
road with his cavalry. These dispositions having been made 
of the (Confederate fonies. Major-general Crittenden con)niand- 
ing the left wing of Kosecrans' army, which had not moved 
with the right and centre, but had been left in the Sequatchie 
Valley, crossed the Tennessee river at the mouth of Battle 
creek, and moved u})on Chattanooga. Major-general McCook, 
conuuanding the right wing, was thrown forward to tlireaten 
Konie, and the cor})S of Major-general Thomas was })ut in 
motion over Lookout Mountain, in the direction of Lafay- 
ette. 

During the 9th of Se{)teml)er it was ascertained that a col- 
unm of the enemy had crossed Lookout Mountain into the 
cove by the way of Stevens' and Cooper's. Thrown oil' his 
guard by our rapid movement apparently in retreat, when in 
reality we had coiucentrated o})posite his centre, and deceived 
by information from deserters and others sent into his lines, 
the enemy ]>re8sed on his columns to interee})t us, and thus 
exposed himself in detail. 

A splendid o])portunity was now presented to Bragg. The 
detached force in McLemore's cove was Thomas's corps. Be- 
ing immediately ojjposite Lafayette, at and near which General 
Ih-agg had all hie forces concentrated, it was comi)letely at the 
mercy of the latter. It was only necessary that General Bragg 
should fall u])on it with such a mass as would have crushed it ; 
then turned down Chattanooga Valley, thrown himself in be- 
tween the town and Crittenden, and crushed him ; then passed 
back between Lookout Mountain and the Tennessee river into 
Wills' Valley, and cut oil' McCook's retreat to Bridgeport; 
thence moved along the CHimberland range into the rear of 
Burnside, and disposed of him. 

No time was to be lost in taking advantage of a blunder of 
the eneni}^, into which he had fallen in his stupid conceit that 
the Confederates were retreating. Instant orders were given 
to Major-general Illndman to ])rej)are his division to move 
against Thomas, and he was informed that another division 



THE TIIIKl) VKAli OK TlIK WAR. 115 

from Lioutoiuinf--em!nil I). [I. lUWs comtniind, at Lafayette, 
would iiiovo ii|) to liiiri and co-oporato in the attack. 

Ooiioral Hill rcccivod UIh orders on the night of the 0th. 
He replied that he cnld not nndertako the movement; that 
the oi-ders were impracticable ; that Clehnrne, who commanded 
one of his divisions, was sick ; and that both the gai)8, i)ng 
and Catlett's, through which he was required to move, were 
mipassable, having been blocked by fc^lled timbcir. 

Early the next jnorning, [lindman was i)romptly in position 
to execute his part of the critical movement. T)isai)pointed at 
IldPs refusal to move, General Bragg, with diisperate haste, 
despatched an order to Major-geru^rai liuckner to move froni 
his present i)ositIon at Anderson, and execute, without delay, 
the orders issu(;d to Hill. 

^ It was not until the aftcrrKH»n of the 10th, that JJuckner 
joined irindtuiui, the two commands being united near Davis's 
Ci-oss-roads in the cove. The enemy was still in flagrant 
error moving his three columns, with an ai)parent disporitiou 
to form a junction at or near Lafayette. To strike in detail 
these isolated commands, and to fall upon Thomas, who had 
got the enemy's centre into McLemore's Cove, such rapidity 
M-as Tiecessary as to surj.rise the enemy before he discovered 
his mistake. 

Lieutenant-general Polk was ordered to Anderson's, to cover 
Jlmdman's rear, who, at midnight of the 10th of September 
again received orders, at all hazards to crush the enemy's 
centre, and cut his way through to Lafayette. The indomita- 
ble Cleburne, despite the obstructions in the road, had moved 
ui> to Dug (hip ; was in position at daylight ; and only waited 
the sound of Ilindman's guns to move on the enemy's flank 
and rear. 

Courier after courier sped from Dug Gap to urge Ilindman 
on yjut 'it was too late. The enemy had discovered the mis- 
take that had well-nigh proved his ruin. He had taken advan- 
tage of our delay, retreated to the mountain passes; and so the 
movement upon Thomas, which promised such brilliant results, 
was lost by an anachronism by which the best laid military 
Bcliemes are so frequently defeated. . 

But it was not easy for liosecrans to repair his error wholly, 
and extricate himself from the meshes of a bad military move- 



116 TUIC TIIIIID YKAK OF THE WAK. 

iiuMit. The luovctnent upon Tliomus in McLemore'a Cove hav- 
inj^ failed, lie having cllVcted his escape uj) the inountain, 
Ivosecraiis, who, by this time, had discovered Bragiij'a where- 
abouts, recalled McCook into AVills' Valley, and ordered him 
to follow Thomas, wlio was ai>ain ])ut in motion over the moun- 
tain into the cove. But the third corps, under Crittenden, 
moving from the direction of Chattanooga, was yet in position 
to be attacked ; and dispositions were rapidly made by Gen- 
eral Bragg to fall u{)on it, and thus retrieve in some measure 
the miscarriage of his other plans. 

Crittenden had move'd on towards Kinggold, with the hope 
of cutting ofi' Buckner. On reaching the point on the Georgia 
railroad at which Buckner crossed, he discovered he was too 
late, aiul turned towards Lafayette to follow him. He moved 
wp the Chickamauga, on its east side, in the direction of La- 
fiiyette, and was confronted by the cavalry nnder Generals 
Pegram and Armstrong. After skirmishes with them, in 
which there were some brilliant dashes on the part of our 
cavalry,, the latter retired slowly before the enemy, falling 
back towards Lafayette. To meet this movement. General 
Bragg ord-ered a force of two divisions, under Lieutenant-gen- 
eral Bolk, to move to the front. These divisions, Cheatham's 
and AValker's, were put in motion, and were in line of battle 
before daylight, covering the three roads on which the enemy's 
three divisions were marching. Ilindman came \i\) after day- 
light, and Bncknei' Avas thrown forward as a supporting force 
to ijuard Polk's left amiinst Thomas and McCook in the cove, 
Crittenden, iinding himself confronted, declined battle, and re- 
tired during the night, falling back on the Chickamauga, which 
he crossed at Lee and Gordon's Mills. This placed the whole 
of Ivosecrans' three corps on the east side of the Chickamauga, 
and in easy supporting distance. 

Thus had failed the preliminary plans to take the enemy in 
a flagrant error of generalship, and at vital disadvantage; and 
nothing renuiined but to light out the issue against his concen- 
trated forces on the banks of the Chickamauga.* 



* To avoid recriminations, which resulted in Generals Hill and Polk being 
deprived of their comnuiiuls in Hragg's army, we annex here what has never 
Leon jmblished in the Coul'oderucy : General Bragg's official letters and orders 



TIIIC Tllllin YEAK OK TflK WAK. 117 

On Saturday, tlie 19th Sopteinber, General Brae^g had 
m(»vecl his army by dlv-isions and crossed it at several fords of 
the Chiekairiauira and bridijces north of Ix'-e and Gordon's MiUs. 
Reinforcements had reached him. Johnston had arrived with 



with respect to the alleged dereliction of these officers. General Polk was also 
blamed in subsequent operations, as we shall see. 

Major-general Ilindinan r(!ceived verbal instructions on the 9tli 

to pn^paro Ilia division to move against tliis force [TlioTiias's corps], and was 
informed tliat another division from Lieutenant-genin-al Hill's command, at 
Lafayette, would join liim. That evening, the following written oi'dcrs were 
issued to Generals Ilindman and Hill : 

Hkadquautehs Army Tennessek, ) 
Lee and Gordon's Mills, 11 J i'. m., Sept. !)tli, 18(i;}. j 

Ounkual: — You will move your division immediately to Davis's X roads 
on th(! road from Lafayette to Stevens' Gap. At this point you will put your- 
self in communicatiim wiMi the column of General Hill, ordered to move to the 
same point, and takecommiind of the joint forccis, or re|K)rt to tho oflicc^r com- 
manding ilill's column, according to rank. If in command you will move 
upon tlie enemy, rei)ort(;d to bo 4,000 or 5,000 strong, encamped at the foot of 
Ix>okout Mountain, at Stevens' Gap. Another column of the enemy is rei)ortexi 
to be at Cooper's Gaj), numl)er not known. 
1 am, (General, &c., 
Signed, KiNLocK Falconer, A. A. General 

ToMAJOK-GENERAI. IllNOMAN, 

Commanding Division. 

ITHAnQTTAKTERS ArJIT TENNESSEE, ) 

Leo and Gordon's Mills, llj p. m., Sept. Sith, 18G;i f 
Genrrai,: — I enclose orders given to (^leneral Ilindman. General Bragg 
directs that you send or take, as your judgmt^nt dictat<;s, Chtburnu's division 
to uuiU'. with General llindimin at Davi.s's X roads to-morrow morning. Hind- 
man starts at 12 o'clock to-night and ho has thirtcu-n miles to nuiko. The 
commander of the column thus unittMl will move u]ion the enemy encamped at 
the foot of Stevens' (lap, said to bo 4,000 or 5,000. If unforeset^n circumstances 
should i)revent your movement, notify Ilindman. A cavalry force should ac- 
(•()mi)aiiy your column. Ilindman has none. Open communications with 
llindnuin with your cavalry, iu advance of the junction. He marches on tho 
road I'rom Dr. Anderson's to Davis's X roads. 

I am. General, &c., &c., 

KiNLocK Falconer, A. A. General. 
Lieutenant-general Hill, 

Commanding. 

On the receipt of his order, during the night, General Hill replied that tlie 
movement recpiired I)y him was impracticable, as (Jeneral ('h^burne was sick, 
and both the gaps — Dug and Catlett's — had Ix^n blocked by felling timber, 
which would nupiire tw(mty-four hours lor its removal. Not to lose; this favor- 
able o2)i)ortunity, Ilindman, by prompt movement, being ready in jjosilion, the 



lis THK THIRD YKAK OK TIIK WAK 

two brigades from Mississippi, find reinforcements from Gen- 
eral Lee's linos in Virt;-iiiiji wore luirryiMiij up to what was to 
be the scene of one i>f the most eritical and magniticont actions 
of the war. The hitter reinforcements consisted of live brijr- 



i'ollowing ortlors were issued at 8 o'clock, A. M., on the 10th, for Major-general 
l>iukui'r ti) move with his two divisions, and roport to Ilindmaii. 

llK.vniiirAiiTKus Army Tennkssre, ) 
Lee and Gordon's Mills, 8 o'clock a. m., Sept. 10th, 1803. \ 

Ornrual : — I enclose orders issued last night to Clenerals Hill and Ilind- 
num. Ueneral Hill has found it impossible to carry out the part assigned to 
Cleburne's division. The general coniniauding desires that you will I'xecuto 
without delay the order issued to (Jeneral Hill. You can move to Pavis's X 
roads by the direct road from your present position at Anderson's, along which 
General llindnum has passed. 

I am, UiMieral, &c., &c.. 
Signed, Uko. W. BiU'iNT, A. A. General. 

Major-gkneral Bucknkk, 

Anderson's. 

And both Hindman and Hill were notified. Ilindman had halted his divis- 
ion at Morgan's, some three or ft)ur miles frojii Davis's X roads, in the cove, 
and at this jioint Buckner joined him daring the afternoon of the 10th. Ee- 
ports fully conlirniing previous information in regard to the ])osition of the 
enemy's forces, were received during the 10th. and it became certain that he 
was moving his three columns to form a junction ui>on us at or near liafayette. 

The cor|is near Colonel Winston's moved on the mountain towards Alpine, a 
point twi'uty miles south of us. The one opposite the cove continued its move- 
nu'ut and threw forward its ailvance to Davis's X roads, and Crittenden moved 
IVom ChattaniH)ga on the roads to Kinggold and Lee and (Gordon's Mill. To 
striki' these isolated commands in succession was our obvious policy. To se- 
cure more prompt ami decidi'd action in the movement ordered against the 
eiuMuy's centre, my lleiidquarters were removed to Lafayette, where I arrived 
alHMit 114 *>" the 10th, — and IJeutenant-general Polk was ordered forward 
with his remaining division to Anderson's, so as to cover Hindnuvn's rear dur- 
ing the operations in the cove. At Lnfayettt> I met Major Nocquet, engineer 
ollicer on (u'ni>ral Buckner's staft", sent by (h'ueral Hinihuan after a junction of 
their commands, to wnfer with me anil sviggest a change in the plan of opera- 
tions. After hearing the ivi>ort of this otlicer, and obtaining from the active 
and energetic CAvalry connnander in front of our position. Brigadier general 
Martin, the latest information of the enemy's movenumts and ixisition, 1 ver- 
bally dirwted the nuijor to u>turn to General Hindman, and say that my plans 
coidd not bo changed, and that he would airry out his orders. At the same 
time the following written orders wore sent to tlie general by a courier : 

IlKArtQTJARTKKS ArMY TENNKSSKK, ^ 
Lafayette, Ga., \'i P.M.. Sept. 10th, 1803 ) 
General : — Headquarters are here and the following is the information : 
Crittenden's corps is advancing on us from Chattanooga. A large force fiom 
the South has advanced to within seven miles of this point. Polk is left at 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THK WAU. 119 

adcs of Lontrstreet's corps ; and those were without artilkny 
and tnuiKpoi-tutioji. Thc^ Vir<rinia tr()(»i)s huKh'd jroni the rail- 
road at RirifTgohl, and were moved rapidly iurward to the 
Chickarnauga. 

Rosecrans' army was distributed from the liead of McLe- 



Anderson's to cover your roar. Qonoral Brap:^ orders yoii to attack and force 
your way tlirongh tlie enemy to tills point, at tlie earlieHt hour you can soo 
him in the morning. 

Cleburne will attack in fronl, tin; moment your guns are heard. 

1 am, (j|(^neral, &c., 
Signed, Uico. VV. Biiknt, A. A. Qeneral 

Ma-ior-gknekal IIindman, 

Commanding, &c, 

OrdiTH w(!re also given lor Walk(!r'H rcBorvt! corps to move pronii)Uy and 
join Cleliurno division at Dug Oup to unite in the attack. At tlu! same time 
Olehurne was direct(vl to nunove all obfitructirms in the road in his fr<mt 
ivliicli was pr()mi)tly d(me, and l)y daylight he was ready to move. The ob^ 
Ptructions in Catlett's (Jap were also ordered to be n^moved to clear the road 
in Ilindnian's rear. JJrecivinridgci's division, Hill's corps, was kept in position 
south of Lafayette to check any movement the enemy might make from that 
diniction. 

At daylight I proceedcMl to join Cleburno at Dug (Jap, and found him wait- 
ing the opening of Jlindnuui's guns tomovo on the enemy's flank and rear. 
Most of the day was spent in this iMwition, waiting, in great anxii^y, for the 
attack by llindman's column. Several couriers and two staff oflicers were des- 
])atche(l at diO'erent times, urging him to move with promptness and vigor. 
About the mifldle of the afternoon the first gun was heard, wIk^ii the advance 
of t'leburne's division discov(u-ed the enemy had taken advantage of our delay 
and retreated to the mountidn passes. The enemy now discovered his error 
and commenced to rotiair it by withdrawing his corps from the direction of 
Alpine to imito with the one near McLt^more's Cove, while that was gradually 
oxtemhul towards Lee ami (iordon's Mills. Our movement having thus failed 
in its justly anticii)ated results, it was determined to turn upon the third (loriw 
of tlie enemy api)roaching us from the direction of Chattanooga. The Ibrces 
wcTe accordingly withdrawn to Lafayette, and Polk's an<l WaUuu-'s a^rps were 
moved immediately in the direction of Lee and (Jordon's Mills. The one coriis 
of the enemy in this din;ction was known to be divided— om; division having 
been si'ut to Ringgold. Upon learning the dispositions of tlu; enemy Irom our 
cavalry commander in that dinjotion on the afternoon of the 12th, Lieutcnanl- 
g(m(U-al Polk, commanding the advance forces, was din;cted in tlie followin.r 
note. *= 

IlKAnqUAKTKKS AUMY TlCNNESSKE, ) 
Lafayette, Oa., (5 i-. m., 12th Sept.) 
General:— I enclose you a despatch from Geniiral Pegram. This i)rosent8 
you a line opportunity of striking (!rittendcn in detail, and I hope you wU 
avail yourself of it at daylight to-morrow. This division crushed and the 



120 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

more's Cove, along and down the west side of the Cliicka- 
nianga Yalley, as far as Lee and Gordon's Mills, Chickamauga 
creek separating it from the army of the Confederates, 

The enemy commenced the affair of the 19th by a vigorous 
attack on Major-general Walker's corps. Our line was formed 
with Buckner's left resting on the Chickamauga about one 

others are yours. We can then turn again on the force in the cove. Whee- 
ler's cavahy will move ou Wildcn so as to cover your right. 
1 shall be delighted to hear of your success. 

Very truly, Yom-s, 
Signed, Braxton Bragg. 

Lieutenant-general Polk. 

Upon fui-ther information the order to attack at daylight on the loth, was re- 
newed in two notes, at later hours of the same day, as follows : 

IlEADQtJARTEiRS ArMY TENNESSEE, { 

Lafayette, 8 P. M., Sept. 12th, 18(>3. ) 

Grxerai, : — I enclose you a despatch marked "A" and I now give you tho 
orders of the commanding general, viz. : to attack at day -dawn to-morrow the 
infantry column reported in said despatch at J of a mile beyond Pea-vine 
church, on the road to Qraysvillo from Lafayette. 

Signed, Geo. W. Brent, A. A. General. 

LlEUTENANT-GENERAIi POLK, 

Commanding Corps 

Headquarters Arsit Tennessee, ) 
Lafayette, Georgia, Sept. 12th, 18ii3. ) 

General : — Tho enemy is approaching from the South, and it is highly 
important that your attack in the morning should be qviick and decided. Let 

no time be lost. 

I nm, General, &c.. 
Signed, Geo. W. Brent, A. A. General, 

Lieutenant-general Poi-k, 

Commanding Corps. 

At 11 p. 51. a despatdi was received from tho general stating that he had 
taken a strong position for defence, and requesting that he should be heavily 
reinforced. He was promptly ordered not to defer his attack, his force being 
already superior to the enemy, and was reminded that his success depended 
ujion the promptness and rapidity of his movements. He was further in- 
formed that Buckner's coriw would be moved within supporting distance the 
next morning. Early on the loth 1 proceeded to the front, ahead of Buckner's 
command , to find that no advance liad been made on the enemy, and that his 
forces had formed a junction and rccrossed the Chickamauga. 

Braxton Bragg, General. 
To Generate S. Cooper, 

Adjutant and Inspector General, Richmond, "^^a. 



THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 121 

mile befow Lee and Gordon's Mills. On his ri.^ht came 
Wood with his own and Joiinstoii's divisions, with Walker on 
the extreme right,— Cheatham's division being in reserve. 
General Walker found a largely superior force of the enemy 
opposed to him. He drove them liandsomely, however, and 
captured several batteries of artillery in most gallant charges. 
Before Cheatliam's division, ordered to his support, could 
reach him, he had been pressed back to his first position 
by tJie extended lines of the enemy assailing him on both 
flanks. 

The two commands united were soon enabled to force the 
enemy back again, and recover our advantage, though we 
■were yet greatly outnumbei-ed. 

These movements on our right were in a direction to leave 
an opening in our line between Cheatham and Hood. Stew- 
art's division forming Buckner's second line was thrown to the 
right to fill this, and it soon became hotly engaged, as did 
Hood's whole front. 

The enemy, whose left was at Lee and Gordon's Mills when 
our movement commenced, had rapidly transferred forces from 
his extreme right, changing his entire line, and seemed dis- 
posed to dispute with all his ability our effort to gain the maiii 
road to Chattanooga in his rear. 

Lieutenant-general Polk was ordered to move his remaining 
division across at the nearest ford and to assume the command 
in pci-son on our right. HilFs corps was also ordered to cross 
below Lee and Gordon's Mills and join the line on the right. 
Whilst these movements were being made our ri^dit and cen- 
tre were heavily and almost constantly engaged. 

Stewart by a vigorous assault broke the enemy's centre and 
penetrated far into his lines, but was obliged to retire for 
^ want of sufiicient force to meet the heavy enfilade fire which 
he encountered from the right. 

^ Hood, later engaged, advanced from the first fire and con- 
tinued to drive the force in his front until night. 
^ Cleburne's division of Hill's corps, which first reached the 
right, was ordered to attack immediately in conjunction with 
the force already engaged. This veteran command, under its 
gallant chief, moved to its work after sunset, taking the enemy 
completely by surprise, driving him in great disorder for nearlj 



122 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

a mile, and inflicting a very lieavy loss. ]S^ight founS us mas- 
ters of the ground, after a series of very obstinate contests with 
lai'gely superior numbers. 

For the grand and decisive work of the next day, the forces 
of Bragg's army were divided into two wings. 

The riglit wing M-as placed under Lieutenant-general Polk, 
and the left under Lieutenant-general Longstreet. The former 
was composed of Lieutenant-general Hill's corps, of two divis- 
ions, Major-general Cleburne's and Major-general Breckin- 
ridge's; of the division of Major-general Cheatham, of Lieu- 
tenant-general Polk's corps, and the division of Major-general 
W. II. T. Walker. 

The left was composed of the divisions of Major-general 
Stewart, and Brigadier-general Preston and Bushrod Johnson, 
of Major-general Buckner's corps; Major-general Ilindman, 
of Lieutenant-general Polk's corps, and Bcnning's, Lane's and 
Robertson's brigades, of Hood's division, and Kershaw's and 
Ilumphrie's brigades, of McLaw's division, of his own (Lieu- 
tenant-general Longstreet's) corps. 

The front line of the right wing consisted of three divisions 
— Breckinridge and Cleburne, of Hill's corps, and Cheatham, 
of Polk's corps — which were posted from right to left in 
the order named. Major-general "Walker was held in re- 
serve. 

The left wing was composed of Major-general Stewart's di- 
vision on the right with Hood's on the left. On Hood's left 
was Hindman's division of Lieutenant-general Polk's corps, 
with Preston's division of Buckner's corps on the extreme 
left. 

Orders were given to Lieutenant-general Polk to commence 
the attack at daylight. The left wing was to await the attack 
by the right, take it up promptly when made, and the whole 
line was then to be pushed vigorously and persistently against 
the enemy throughout its extent. 

" Before the dawn of day," writes General Bragg in his offi- 
cial report, " myself and staff were ready for the saddle, occu- 
pying a position immediately in rear of and accessible to all 
parts of the line. With increasing anxiety and disappoint- 
ment I waited until after sunrise without hearing a gun ; and 
at length despatched a staff officer to Lieutenant-general Polk 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 123 

to ascertain the cause of the delay, and urge him to a prompt 
and speedy movement. This officer not finding tlie general 
with liis troops, and learning where ho had spent the night, 
proceeded across Alexander's Bridge, to the east side of the 
Chickainauga, and there delivered my message. Proceeding in 
person to the right wing, I found the troops not even prepared 
for the movement. Messengers were immediately despatched 
for Lieutenant-general Polk, and he shortly after joined me. 
J\[y ordei's were I'enewed and the general was urged to their 
prompt execution, the more important as the ear was saluted 
throughout the night with the sounds of the axe and falling 
timber as the enemy industriously labored to strengthen his 
position by hastily constructed barricades and breastworks. 
A reconnoissance made in the front of our extreme right dur- 
ing this delay crossed the main road to Chattanooga, and 
proved the important fact that this greatly desired position 
was open to our possession. The reasons assigned for this un- 
fortunate delay by the wing commander, appear in part in the 
reports of his suboi^iinates. It is sufficient to say they are 
entirely unsatisfactory." 

But it was said, on the other side of the story, that Polk's 
delay was due to circumstances beyond his control ; that, prior 
to giving the order to move forward to the attack. General 
Polk discovered that owing to the want of precaution on the 
jjart of the proper authority in the formation of the general 
line of battle, a portion of the line of the left wing had been 
formed in front of his line — a portion amounting to a whole 
division — and that had the order to make the attack at daylight 
been obeyed, this division, from its position, must inevitably 
have been slaughtered. It was saved by an order to halt 
Cheatham's division, and by orders to the left of Cleburne ad- 
vising it of its whereabouts. 

The action was opened upon the right of the Confederates 
about ten o'clock in the morning by a forward movement of 
Breckinridge, followed and accompanied by Cleburne. The 
enemy had during the night thrown up breastworks of heavy 
timber, cut down from the forest, behind which he had en- 
trenched himself. These lay chiefly in Cleburne's front. He 
moved direct upon them, while Breckim-idge swung round to 
flank them. The assault was a desperate one. General Polk 



124: THE TIirKl) YKAU OF THK WAR. 

being- iiifonned b}' Gcricriil Hill thtit tlic oiieiny was tliroaten- 
iiiij; his right flank, Polk orcU'rcd Wulktir inuni'diaicly to move 
to the right and t'onn an ecludon upon Hrcckinridge, over- 
lapping his right. It was tiieii ascertained that no enemy was 
tliere. But the forward moveuu'nt of the front line had residted 
in a severe eonfliet, des))ei'ately contested, which drove the 
eneni}' around on the extreme left a mile or more across tlio 
Chatlanooga road. 

For two hours tlie tight raged with sid)lime fury. Again 
and again, as we struck the enemy, did hie stately lines of 
soldiers crumble into masses of terror-stricken fugitives. 
Thomas commanded the Yaidvce's left. Heavy reinforcements 
being sent from the enemy's right to him, he was enabled to 
regain a portion of the groinid he had lost, Never did Yankees 
fight better than just here. They drove back (Meburne's magni- 
ficent division, and it a])peared at one time as if our right 
and centre were giving way before Thomas's extraordinary 
attack. 

But while such were the operations on our right wing, the 
tide of battle running: from ri«2;ht to left had reached Lonji;- 
street's extreme left about eleven o'clock. Hood and others 
■were ordered to make a vigorous assault in front ; Huckner 
was made to execute a successful Hank movement ; aiul under 
the vigor of the combined attack llosecrans found his lines 
steadily giving way, ami McOook and (Crittenden forced far to 
the right. He had moved most of his strength to the left 
where Thomas had fought so brilliantly, but with the advantage 
of superior numbers. Negley, hard pressed on the left, rej^orted 
to Kosecrans. "Tell General Negley I can't help him," was 
the reply. 

The Yankees in Longstreet's front had sought a position on 
a high ridge. From this position they Avere driven, with heavy- 
loss in killed, wounded, prisoners, artillery, small-arms and 
colors, after a desperate struggle, by the brigades of Kt^rshaw 
and Humphries, under the (tommand of Ih-igadier-general 
Kershaw, in the absence of Major-general McLaws, reinforced 
by Gracise's, Kelley's, and Trigg's brigades, of Major-general 
Freston's division, ]\rajor-general Hind man completing the 
general work of the line to the left by driving the enemy on 
his i'ront bcrorc him along M'ith those driven from the ridge by 



THE TUIKI) YICAll OF THE WAR. 125 

Preston and Kersliaw. Kosecrans, perceiving wlmt was taking 
place on his riglit, ordered U]) reinforcernentH from his left to 
Bnpl)ort Ilia i-etiring or j-atlier iViglitened battalioiiH, which, 
finding a good ])o8ition, awaited their arrival, turning upon 
their j)ursuer8 with the lierceness of a temporary and des|)erato 
energy. JJrigadier-general Law, commanding II(jod\s division, 
perceiving this movement, ordered a battery of ten guiiH to a 
position from which he could enfilade the reinforcing column 
as it advanced. The battery opened just as it was about 
wheeling into ])08ition, and, at the same time, Stewart's divi- 
Bion, i»o.sted on the extreme right, was thrown forward on its 
flaid<. The shock was terrible. The enemy halted, staggered 
backwards, and i'ell into conl'usion. 

It was late in the evening when the whole Confederate lino 
was revised and jiosted, and a forward movement in all its 
length ordered. The right swung round with an exteiuled 
sweep, with its iirm sujJiJortH, and the left rallied once more to 
the charge of the works, before which it had suffered so 
seveiH'.ly in the morning. Never did tro()j)rt iriove up to their 
work with more resolution; the daring 15reckiiii-i(lge with his 
Kentuckians and Louisianians, and (yieburne with his Arkan- 
sians and Alabamians, and Walker with his South Carolinians, 
MiH8issi])pianH, and (ieorgians, and (Jh(!alhani with Ids Tennes- 
seeans — all moved forward in one mighty tide amidst the 
thunders of some twenty batte)'i(;s, and the roar of thousands 
of nniskets and rilies. Tiie scene was one of surpassing sublim- 
ity and grandeur. Sweeping forward as the flood of a mighty 
river, it carried every thing before it, nothing being able to 
stand in the resistless line of its path. The enemy's works, 
which oj)posed such a stubljorn resistance in the morning, suc- 
cundjed before tlie torrent, and the brave men of Cleburne's 
division, which had been repulsed in the morning, had, by 
their extraordinary gallantry in the evening, the opj)ortunity 
of avenging the experiences of the earlier part of the day. The 
"whole field was carried triumphantly, and the enemy driven as 
chaff belbre the wind. U^ withstood as long as hunum ])owers 
of ejujuiunce could bear uj) against such a pi-essure, then 
yielded, and i'ell back partly upon aiul into the hands of the 
right wing, where several hundred were captured, the residue 
crossing the Chattanooga road and retreating in the dij'cction 



126 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

of Missionary Kidge. Night interposed, and thongli it brought 
with it a magnificent moon, no orders were received to pursue, 
and the troops were lialted, giving expression to their sense of 
the glorious victory won, and unconquerable desire to pursue 
it to an absolute success in the enemy's utter annihilation, in 
Buch long, loud and triumphant cheering, as would almost 
seem to reiid the heavens. 

Never was a more disorderly retreat of an enemy. Long- 
street, who had contributed so much to the fortunes of the day, 
now saw that by a forward movement of the whole army, 
JRosecrans' whole force might be captured in twenty-four 
hours, and that no obstacle was between us and the Ohio, and 
perhaps peace. He sent word to Wheeler, who was on his left, 
to dash forward between Chattanooga and the enemy and cut 
him to pieces; but just as Wheeler was about to execute this 
movement, he received an order from Bragg directing him to 
pick up arms and stragglers. It was said that Longstreet had 
not heard from Bragg but once during the day, and then it 
was to say that he was beaten on the right. He now sent to 
beg him to advance ; but the General-in-chief declined to 
do so. 

General Forrest had climbed a tree and from his lofty perch 
watched the retreating enemy. He saw the blue uniforms 
swarming over the fields, and the disorganized masses of the 
enemy choked with flight, 'and struggling in mortal panic as 
sounds of feeble pursuit followed on their heels. He shouted 
to a staff officer : " Tell General Bragg to advance the whole 
army ; the enemy is ours." 

Bragg did not catch the inspiration. He tells us in his official 
report : " The darkness of the night and the density of the forest 
rendered further movements uncertain and dangerous, and 
the army bivouacked on the ground it had so gallantly 
won." 

But granting that reasons, substantive reasons, existed for not 
pursuing on Sunday night, what hindered General Bragg from 
pursuing on Monday morning at daylight ? Chattanooga was 
only ten miles from the battle-field, and unfortified ; our pursu- 
ing cavalry could see their head of column, and urged General 
Bragg by repeated messages to pursue, that every hour's delay 
would be equal to the loss of a thousand men. Citizens along 



THE TRIED YEAR OF THE WAR. 127 

the road reported that many of the Yankee commands passed 
their dwellings in tiie utmost disorder, without arms or accoutre- 
ments, and many without hats, as a confused and routed mob, 
not as troops in column, everything in Chattanooga and on the 
road inviting rather than forbidding attack. Even if they had 
had good defensive works, with the condition as reported 
above, by a prompt pursuit our army would have gone into 
Chattanooga with theii's, and thus broken the efi'ect of their 
fire ; and if such could have been the result with good defen- 
sive works, what might not the result have been without them, 
and the enemy panic-stricken because of the knowledge that 
none such existed ? What hindered General Bragg from pur- 
suing is not known, but it is known that, while pursuit seems 
to have been invited, he did not pursue. He simply sent out 
detachments to the battle-field to gather up the fruits of vic- 
tory, in arms large and small, to be secured and sent to the 
rear, and caused the captured banners to be collected to be 
sent to Richmond, and prisoners to be counted and sent to 
the rear. 

The enemy's immediate losses in the battle of Chickamauga 
were immense. It was officially stated that we captured over 
eight thousand prisoners, fifty-one pieces of artillery, fifteen 
thousand stand of small arms, and quantities of anmmnition, vi^ith 
wagons, ambulances, teams, medicines, hospital stores, &c., in 
large quantities. 

The enemy's loss in killed and wounded have been by many 
thousands greater than ours ; and General Bragg, in his official 
report, makes the appalling confession that, on this " River of 
Death," he lost " txm-fifths " of his troops. Our loss in general 
officers was conspicuous. Brigadier-general B. H. Helm,* 
Preston Smith, and James Deshler, had died on the field. The 



* Brigadier-general Helm was a grandson of Ben Hardin, well known to the 
oldest inhabitants of Kentucky, as a leading public-spirited gentleman of high 
moral worth in the earlier days of the Warrior State. General Helm was 
born in Hardin County, Kentucky, in 1831— graduated at West Point, and 
afterwards retired from the army of the United States to take up the study of 
law. He entered the Southern army without a commission, but from the rank 
of private he was soon made colonel, and coranuinded the first Kentucky 
cavalry in the Confederate service. He was made brigadier-gcineral in March, 
1862, The Kentucky brigafle, which he commanded in the battle of Chicka- 



12S THE THIRD YEAU OF THE WAR. 

lion-lieartedjlood, the luminaiy of Texas chivalry and courage, 
was so severely wounded that he had to suffer amputation of 
the thigh. The notice of his extraordinary gallantry by Long- 
street, who with generous ardor comnuiiiicated it in a special 
letter to his government, obtained for him the commission of a 
Lieutenant general, and ranged him with the popular heroes 
of the war. 

The day following this terrible conflict, General Bragg 
ordered the troops under arms, and marched them down the 
Chattanooga i-oad until they came near to Rossville, where 
Forest and Pegram were thundering away with their batteries 
at the retreating enemy, there had them tiled to the right, and 
thrown down the Chickamauga creek, that they might rest from 
their fatigues and be in a good position to move upon Burn- 
side or flank Rosecrans, as future contingences might dictate. 
On Wednesday, the 23d of September, an order was issued for 
the whole army to move upon Chattanooga. It moved up to 
and over Missionary Kidge, where it was halted. And there 
it was to remain halted for many long weeks. 

Chickamauga had conferred a brilliant glory upon our arms, 
but little else. Rosecrans still held the prize of Chattanooga, 
and with it the possession of East Tennessee. Two-thirds of 
our nitre beds were in that region, and a large proportion of 
the coal which supplied our foundries. It abounded in the 
necessaries of life. It was one of the strongest countries in the 
world, so full of lofty mountains, that it had been called, not 
unaptly, the Switzerland of America. As the possession of 
Switzerland opened the door to the invasion of Italy, Germany 
and France, so the possession of East Tennessee gave easy 
access to Vii-ginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. 

matiga, went into the fight with seventeen hundred and sixty-three men, and 
came out with only four hundred and tliirty-two. 

General Helm's wife was a half-sister of Mrs. Lincoln. Immediately after 
the fall of Fort Sumter, in 1861, President Lincoln sent him a commission as 
major in the regular army of the United States ; and apprehending that he 
might not be willing to be employed to murder his own people, the Yankee 
Secretary of War proposed, as a salve for any scruples, to send him as pay- 
master to New Mexico. The gallant Kentuckian spurned the bribe, gave his 
services, and at last his life, to the Confederacy, and fell in the numerous 
throng of brave defenders of truth, justice and liberty. His wife lives, known 
as one of the most enthusiastic and devoted patriot women of the South. 





■ '''K^^^^./f'i^' 



CFN BHAXTON BRAGG. 



rFmgrgyed for the Third Year of -fhe "//'or 



THE THIUD TEAR OF THE WAR. , 129 

Rosecrans found occasion after the battle to congratulate 
his armj on their retention of Chattanooga. lie said, " You 
have accomplished the great work of the campaign ; you hold 
the key of East Tennessee, of Northern Georgia, and of the 
enemy's mines of coal and nitre." He claimed that he held in 
his hands the substantial fruits of victory, and sought to per- 
suade his government that the battle of Chickamauga was 
merely an incident to the concentration of his forces and his 
cover of Chattanooga. lie lost no time in reorganizing his 
army at Chattanooga. He assumed a fortified line about a 
mile and a half in length, covering the pontoons, stores and 
hospitals, and commanding all the south east and eastern ap- 
proaches to the place, leaving Bragg no chance to dislodge him 
by direct attack, only by long and toilsome maneuvers and 
marches threatening his communications. 

Bragg's awkward pause before Chattanooga was the occa- 
sion of new propositions of the campaign on our side. Of one 
of these General Bragg communicated as follows to the War 
Department at Richmond. 

" The suggestion of a movement by our right immediately 
after the battle, to the north of the Tennessee, and thence upon 
Nashville, requires notice only because it will find a place in 
the files of the Department. Such a movement was utterly 
impossible for want of transportation. Nearly half our army 
consisted of reinforcements just before the battle, without a 
wagon or an artillery horse, and nearly, if not quite, a third of 
the artillery horses on the field had been lost. The railroad 
bridges too had been destroyed to a point soutli of Ringgold, 
and on all the roads from Cleveland to Knoxville. To these 
insurmountable difficulties were added the entire absence of 
means to cross the river, except by fording at a few precarious 
points too deep for artillery, and the well known danger of 
sudden rises by which all communication would be cut, a con- 
tingency which did actually happen a few days after the 
visionary scheme was proposed. Bnt the most serious objec- 
tion to the proposition was its entire want of military propri- 
ety. It abandoned to the enemy our entii-e line of communi- 
cation, and laid open to him our (^Dots of supplies, while it 
placed us with a greatly inferior fo^Pljcyond a diSicult, and 
at times impassable river, in a country affording no sub&ist- 

9 



loO THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

ence to men or animals. It also left open to the enemy, at a 
distance of only ten miles, our battle-field, with thousands of 
our wounded, and his own, and all the trophies and supplies 
we had won. All this was to be risked and given up, for 
what? to gain the enemy's rear and cut him oft* from his depot 
of supplies, by the route over the mountains, when the very 
movement abandoned to his unmolested use the better and 
more practicable route half the length, on the south side of the 
river. 

" It is hardly necessary to say the proposition was not even 
entertained, whatever may have been the inferences drawn 
from subsequent movements." 

The plan preferred by General Bragg was to invest Chatta- 
nooga, and starve the enemy out. Rosecrans' shortest and 
most important road to his depot at Bridgeport lay along the 
south bank of the Tennessee ; and, as Bragg held this, the 
enemy was forced to a road double the length, over two ranges 
of mountains, by wagon transportation, upon which long and 
difficult route our cavalry might operate with advantage. 
Looking to a speedy evacuation of Chattanooga, for want of 
wood and forage, General Bragg declared that he " held the 
enemy at his mercy, and that his destruction was only a ques- 
tion of time." Alas, we shall see hereafter how vain were the 
sanguine expectations and the swollen boast of this ill-starred 
and unfortunate commander ! 

General Bragg has burdened the story of Chickamauga with 
recriminations of his officers: a resource to which he showed, 
on all occasions, a characteristic and ungenerous tendency. 
His course, in this respect, invites and justifies severe criticism 
of himself. Whatever may have been the faults of his subor- 
dinate officers in the action of Chickamauga, it is certain that 
the military o])inion of the Confederac}' indicated two import- 
ant errors of his own in the conduct of this famous battle. 

1. That he failed to cut off" the enemy's exit to Chattanooga, 
which it is considered he might have done, if he had marched 
his army by the right flank, and crossed lower down on the 
Chickamauga ; at such point throwing his army across the 
creek and valley, formiiiar it at right angles to the Lafayette 
and Chattanooga road, aflpo covering the exit from the yalley 
in the direction of Chattanooga. As it was, he crossed his 



THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 131 

army north of Lee and Gordon's Mills, ordered a 'demonstra- 
tion there, which miglit have been well used as a cover for the 
proper movement, and utterly failed, as his critics say, to grasp 
the situation. 

2. That he failed to pursue a routed and disorganized 
enemy, threw away the opportunity of completing his victory, 
realized no substantial fruit from it, and, after one of the most 
splendid successes in the record of Confederate arms, left his 
enemy in statu quo, reorganizing at leisure. 

In this latter respect, Chickamauga must indeed be con- 
fessed to be a second and enlarged edition of the famous Bull 
Run. It will stand conspicuous among the various fruitless 
victories gained by the Confederates— among the least pardon- 
able blunders and shortcomings of history.* 

* We may place here, in conjunction with Chickamauga, some interesting 
passages from a private letter of a distinguished general officer in the West 
reviewing the campaign there, and criticising with great intelligence, the gen- 
eral military policy of the Confederacy : 

. . It would be a laborious task to review the campaigns even of the 

Army of Tennessee. Yet what profound lessons do they teach ? What errors 
have been committed? What opportunities have been lost? The man who 
does not see these and who has not learned from them powerful lessons for 
the future, is totally unfit for any responsible military position in the pregnant 
future, on which the destiny of untold mOlions now trembles 

We lost Donelson, and as a consequence Middle Tennessee, from the want of 
rapid combination and concentration. We lost Shiloh first by delay then bv 
want of persistence in the first day's fight, then lor the want of the p;oper dis- 
tribution of troops at the close of that day. We threw away the golden mo- 
ments at MumfordsviUe, in Kentucky, and further neglected to make security 
doubly sure by concentrating the two armies. Smith's and Bragg's • and vet 
again these two armies, for the want of proper generalship and energy'together 
precipitately and ingloriously abandoned the broad territory between the Ohio 
and the Cumberland rivers. It is remarkable, that this campaign in Kentucky 
presented more glorious opportunities for great results, than any other in this 
or, perhaps, any other war, and all was lost for the want of the simplest com- 
binations. Again, Nashville, garrisoned by a few thousand Federals, was not 
taken, simply because the attack was prohibited. God knows how often this 
city might have been taken before the battle of Murfreesboro', while the two 
armies were lying idle or being slowly moved, without any decided plan or 
purpose. How often before and subsequent to the battle of Murfreesboro' did 
the dispersed condition of the Yankee forces offer the opportunity for a good 
general to make a vigorous and rapid movement, such as would have destroyed 
Its fragments in detail ? Murfreesboro' wa^t by want, first, of proper com- 
bmation on the field, and then by want of pWitence in the fight, especially on 
the left. In six weeks after the battle of Murfreesboro', our army in Tennessee 



132 THE TIITRn YKAK OF THE WAK. 

was as strong ifs wlun it f()uj;ht tliat battlo, ami could have driven Ilosccrana 
liDin Tt'iiiicbsee witli ordinary fjencralshii). From March till June, in 1863, 
Ave renuvined idly stretching from Sli(>lbyville to the right, while the Yankees, 
holding a line from Franklin to Woodbury, again and again afforded us an op- 
ixntiuiity to fall, by rapid combinations, nj)on detach(>d masses, and thus de- 
stroy their army. In July we occupied a strong ridge, stretching from Bell- 
IJuckle towards Hradyville, very strong by nature on the right, and made strong 
by fortifications on the left, in front of Shelbyville. An injudicious disposition 
of forces left 11(X)V»t'8 Uap undefended by our army. Ilosecrans advanced uiH)n 
Hoover's (hip. Three brigailes of Confederates moved rajjidly up and held 
them in the gap for over forty hours. A rai)id concentration of our forces at 
Hoover's (lap, or one half of them, by moving oi\ the enemy's flank and rear, 
to a commanding position, which lay invitingly before us, would have routed 
the enemy, and i>lanted us still mow iirmly in Tennessee. But we were or- 
dered to retreat, and we retiretl before the scattered forces of the enemy, when 
a rajiid combination and a vigorous attack, with a sudden change from a retro- 
grade to an advance mcn'enuMit on some one of the enemy's masses in motion, 
might luive insured victcu-y. In that retrograde movement we also abandoned 
some remarkal)ly strong positions without taking advantage of them, or making 
tax etJ'ort to repulse the enemy, even wlu'u we could have done so without dan- 
ger to our army. 

At Chickanuvuga, the world knows, we lost the fruits of the victory for want 
of vigorous i)ursuit. On the night of the 20th of Septemb(>r there -should liave 
been no sleep and no repose. A vigorous, persistent, onward iuovenu>nt would 
have dcstroyeil Uosecrans' army. How de])loral)le has been the consequences 
of our want of energy, want of activity, and want of persistence ! Tlu^ army 
of Ttumessee bt>ing tied to no spi>cial line of o]ierations, and embarrassed by no 
important point, such as Richmond, retjuiring to be defended, lutd greatly the 
advantage over the army of Virginia, yet the former has constantly yielded up 
tt>rritory to a conquering foe, and the latter has overthrown every ai-my that 
came against it. 

I have meant merely to allude to the erroi-s on our line of operations. There 
are greater i>rrors than these, greater becavise tlu'y pertain to the management 
of all the ConfiHlerute forces. They are errors in what is usually denomiuated 
grand strategy. 

We now hav»>, 1 may say, numerous independent armies in the field, each 
acting almost without reference to all the others, and mrely co-operating with 
any other army. 

The Allied Armies, in 1814, entered France with 400,000 men, and had a 
numerous force hovering on the borders of that cmjiire. Napoleon had but 
I'JO.OOO in tlie field, exclusive of the forces shut up in fortifications and ope- 
rating beyond the boundaries of France. We know how nearly he came to 
vanquishing the Allied Powers, and even his enemies have demonstrated how 
he could have completely overthi'own the armies against which he contended. 
A rapid concentration of forces ujion detached armies, is a well-established 
means by which inferior forces must conq\u'r superior numbers. Superior mo- 
bility in strategy, and the concentrated, swift, lightning stroke in the liour of 
battle, must comiH>nsato for ii^fl||rity of nmnbers. Napoleon, Frederick the 
Ureat, anil (^harles the Xll., halBniustrated these facts, and they have become 
tlie most familiar lessons of the soldier. But, with proper strategy, in my 



TUT? THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 133 

opinion, we need seldom fight superior forces. Look at the position of all oiir 
armies now. We are remaining listlessly waiting for the en(!my to mass his 
forces and men upon us. Can any one contemplate this attitude of our armies, 
and not feel uttiirly astonished at our policy, and the repose into which we have 
sunk on every hand? Where is that activity which should belong to inf<>rior 
forces V It is rather to be found among our enemies, whose superior numbers 
would entitle them to the repose which we have quietly assumed. 



134 THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAB. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Political Movements in the Fall of 1863.— The " Peace Party" in the North.— The 
Yankee Fall Elections. — The War Democrats in the North. — The South's Worst 
Enemies. — Yankee Self-Glorification. — Farragut's Dinner-Party. — The Eussian Ban- 
quet. — Kiissia and Yankeedom. — The Poles and the Confederates. — The Political 
Tbotjbles in Kentucky. — Bramlette and Wickcliffe. — The Democratic Platform in 
Kentucky. — Political Amlndexterity. — Burnside's Despotic Orders. — The Kentucky 
"Board of Trade." — An Election by Bayonets. — The Fate of Kentucky Sealed. — Our 
European Kelations. — Dismissal of the Foreign Consuls in the Confederacy. — 
Seizure of the Confederate " Kams" in England. — The Confederate Privateers. — 
Their Achievements. — British Interests in Privateering. — The Profits of So-called 
"Neutrality." — Naval Affairs of the Confederacy. — Embarrassments of Our 
Naval Enterprise.— The Naval Structures of the Confederates. — Lee's Flank Move- 
ment IN Virginia. — Affair of Bristoe Station. — Failure of Lee's Plans. — Meade's 
Escape to Centreville. — Imboden's Operations in the Valley. — Capture of Charlestown. 
^Operations at Kappahannock Bridge. — Kelley's Ford. — Surprise and Capture of 
Hayes' and Hoke's Brigades. — Gallantry of Colonel Godwin, — Lee's Army on the 
Eapidan.— The Affair of Germania Ford. — Meade Foiled.— The "On-to-Rich- 
mond" Delayed. 

"We must take the reader's attention from military campaigns 
to certain political movements, which, in the fall of 1863, ap- 
parently involved more or less distinctly the fortunes of the 
war. 

The long-continued delusion, indulged by Southern men, of 
" a peace party" in the North, which would eventually compel 
peace on the terms of the Confederacy, is to be compared *to 
that similar delusion of Northern politicians, which insisted 
that " a Union party" existed in the South, and that it was 
only temporarily suppressed by a faction. There was not the 
least foundation in fact for either of these opinions ; and the 
agreeable confidence of the South, in its supposed friends in the 
North, was to be rudelj'^ dispelled by events that admitted of 
but one construction. The South had mistaken for substantial 
tokens of public sentiment the clamors and exaggerations of 
party elections. The Democratic party in the North went into 
the fall elections of 1863, on the issue of a general opposition 
to the Lincoln Administration ; at the same time, promising a 
vigorous " constitutional" prosecution of the war, while their 



THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 135 

vagne allusions to an impossible peace and platitudes of fra- 
ternal sentiment were merely intended to catch favor in the 
South, and really meant nothing. Even Mr. Seymour, of New 
York, managed, while cozening the South, to maintain, on the 
other hand, a cordial understanding with the authorities at 
Washington ; and he found it necessary to conclude one of his 
finest speeches by saying, " never have I embarrassed the Ad- 
ministration, and I never will." 

But even on its moderate issues, with reference to the war, 
which, as we have seen, proposed only certain constitutional 
limitations, the Democratic party in the North was badl}^ beaten 
in the fall elections. From Minnesota to Maine, the Democrats 
were defeated. In the latter, which was supposed to be the 
least fanatical of the New England States, the Republicans 
carried the election by an overwhelming majority. In Ohio, 
Vallandigham was defeated. He was still in exile. Voorhies, 
who had proclaimed doctrines somewhat similar to his, in a 
neighboring State, narrowly escaped being lynched by the 
soldiers. The elections were followed by a remarkable period 
of political quiet in the North. Those who had the courage to 
confront the administration of Lincoln, had either been sup- 
pressed by the strong hand of lawless power, or had supinely 
sought safety in silence. The overthrow of free government in 
the North was complete. 

The South was not easily imposed upon by that organized 
hypocrisy, the War Democracy of the North. While it pro- 
fessed constitutional moderation in the conduct of the war, it 
aimed at the reconstruction of the Union, which was only a 
different phrase for the military conquest of the South. It 
must be observed that so far as questions of the constitutional 
conduct of the authorities at Washington were made in the 
North, they were questions entirely between their domestic 
parties, which did not properly interest the people of the Con- 
federacy, inasmuch as their demand for independence, simple 
and absolute, had 'nothing to do with the modifications of the 
different parties which opposed it. Indeed, with regard to this 
demand, the War Democrat at the North was a far more 
dangerous enemy to the Confederacy than the open and avowed 
Abolitionist. The former was more plausible; his programme 
of reconstruction carried an appearance of possibility to entice 



136 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

the popular fuith wliich that of naked conquest did not possess. 
But botli programmes — that of the War Democrat and that of 
tJie Abolitionist — were equally fatal to the Confederacy : as it 
mattered not what was the formula of subjugation, if the 
peu})le of the South once placed themselves within the power 
of their treacherous enemies, and submitted to any form of their 
authority. 

The North had yet shown no real disposition to abandon the 
war. The Yankees were still busy with the game of self-glori- 
fication. Their conceit, their love of display, their sensations 
amused the world. Their favorite generals were all Napoleons; 
in the cities mobs of admirers chased them from hotel to hotel ; 
in the New England towns deputations of school-girls kissed 
them in public. Farragut, their successful admiral, was enter- 
tained in New York with feasts, where a plaster of ice-cream 
represented the American Eagle, and miniature ships, built of 
sticks of candy, loaded the table. These childish displays and 
vain glory had culminated in an immense banquet given to a 
Russian fleet in the harbor of New York, at which distinguished 
Yankee orators declared that the time had come when Russia 
and the United States were to be taken as twins in civilization 
and power, to hold in subjection all others of Christendom, and 
to accomplish the "destiny" of the nineteenth century. 

And really this festive fervor but gave insolent expression 
to an idea that had long occupied thoughtful minds in distant 
quarters of the world. Christendom was called upon to wit- 
ness two political murders. "While twenty millions of Yankees 
sought to strangle the Southern Confederacy, fifty millions of 
Muscovites combined to keep ten or twelve millions of Poles 
under a detested yoke. In their infamous attempt upon Poland, 
Russians tried to pass themselves oli' as the defenders of liberal 
ideas against Polish aristocracy ; and it was declared that the 
Polish nobility was in rebellion in order not to be forced to 
emancipate the serfs. " Russia and the United States," said a 
French writer of the time, " proclaim the liberty of the serf 
and the emancipation of the slave, but in return both seek to 
reduce to slavery all who defend liberty and independence." 

Liberty of the press, of speech, of public meetings, even the 
venerable privilege of habeas corpus^ inherited from England, 
had already been put under the feet of Abraham Lincoln. 



THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 137 

While the Democratic party was timidly protesting in the 
Northern States, Mr. Lincoln had prefaced the fai-ce of the 
fall elections in the North by an oitrage upon the ballot in 
Kentucky, which Yankee Democrats were too weak or too dis- 
honest to resent. 

A history of the Kentucky troubles, in some details, is the 
best commentary we can choose from events, upon the condi- 
tion to which the wlK>le system of political liberty had fallen 
in the North. 

THE POLITICAL TROUBLES IN KENTUCKY. 

In the last days of August, 1862, the Hon. Beriah Magoffin 
resigned his office as Governor of the State of Kentucky. From 
causes into which it is not necessary now to enter, he had in- 
curi-ed the suspicion of a great nuijority of the Union jjarty, 
and through the Legislature they had succeeded in divesting 
him of all real power in the government. The executive con- 
trol of the State had rapidly fallen into the hands of the mili- 
tary officers of the United States, and for months the people 
had been subject to martial law in all its oppressiveness, with- 
out its declaration in form. Under these circnmstances, and 
for the purpose of relieving the people, and especially that por- 
tion of them known as "Southern-rights Men," who had been 
the peculiar objects of persecution, Mr. Magoffin, in a pub- 
lished letter, declared his willingness to resign whenever he 
could be assured of the election of a successor of conservative 
views, who, commanding the coniidence at the same time of 
the Administration at Washington and of the people of Ken- 
tuck}', would be able and willing to secure every j)eaceful 
citizen in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to him by the 
Constitution and laws. James F. Robinson, then a member of 
the .Senate, was indicated to him, and he consented to resign 
in his favor. 

For the August election of 1863, Thomas E. Bramlette was 
offered as a candidate for governor. Mr. Bramlette main- 
tained generally the rightfulness of the suspension of the writ 
of habeas corpus^ and the extension of martial law over States 
where war did not exist, and gave in a quasi adhesion to Mr. 
Lincoln's policy. 



138 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

A number of Kentucky Democrats presented a ticket in 
opposition, headed by C A. Wickcliffe for governor, and pub- 
lished the following expressions of their views, as comprising 
the issues of the approaching election. 

" We cannot consent to the doctrine that the Constitution and laws are 
inadequate to the i)rcsent emergency ; that the constitutional guarantees of 
liberty and property can be suspended by war. 

" Our fathers certainly did not intend that our Constitution should be a fair- 
weather document, to be laid away in a storm, or a fancy garment to be worn 
only in dry weather. On tlie contrary, it is in times like the present that con- 
stitutional restraints on the power of those in authority are needed. 

" We hold the Federal government to be one of limited powers, that cannot 
be enlarged by the existence of civil C(mamotion. 

" We hold the rights reserved to the States t>qually sacred with those granted 
to the United States. Tho government has no more right to disregard the 
Constitution and laws of the States than the States have to disregard the Con- 
stitution and laws of the United States. 

" We hold that tho Administration has committed grave errors in confisca- 
tion bills, lawless proclamations, and military orders setting aside constitutions 
and laws, and making arrests outside of military lines where there is no pub- 
lic danger to excuse it. 

" It is now obvious that the fixed purpose of the Administration is to arm 
the negroids of the South to make war upon the whites, and we hold it to be 
the duty of the poojile of Kentucky to enter against such a jwlicy a solemn 
and most em})hatic protest. 

" We hold as sacred and inalienable the right of free speech and a free 
press — that the government belongs to the people and not the people to the 
government. 

"We hold this rebellion Titterly unjustifiable in its inception, and a dissolu- 
tion of the Union the greatest of calamities. We would use all just and con- 
stitutional means adapted to the suppression of the one and the restoration of 
the other." 

Notwithstanding these resolutions, which so carefully sound- 
ed in " loyalty," and exhibited the usual ambidexterity of the 
"War Democracy, it soon became evident that the authorities 
at Washington wore determined to interfere in the Kentucky 
election, and force it exactly to their purpose. Messrs. "Wolfe 
and Trimble, candidates for Congress in the First and Fifth 
districts, and Mr. Martin, candidate for the Legislature in Lyon 
and Livingston counties, were arrested by the provost-mar- 
shals. 

On the 31st of July, Biirnside declared martial law in Ken- 
tucky. The following is a summary of the most outrageous of 
the despotic orders which followed in quick succession the dec- 
laration of martial law. 



THE TIIIKD YEAR OF THE WAE. 139 

1. By way of precaution, the people are informed that when- 
ever any property is needed for the use of the United States 
army, it will be taken from rebel sympathisers^ and receipts 
given for the same marked " disloyal," and to be paid at the 
end of the war, on proof that the holder is a loyal man. 

2. Rebel sympathizers are defined to be not only those who 
are in favor of secession, but also those who are not in favor of 
a vigorous prosecution of the war, and of furnishing men and 
money unconditionally for that purpose. " Loyalty" is to be 
proved by the vote given at the election. 

3. County judges are required to appoint none but "loyal" 
men as judges of election, notwithstanding tlie provisions of 
our laws, which require the officers of election to be taken 
equally from each political party. 

4. Persons oflfering to vote, whose votes may be rejected by 
the judges, are notified that they will be immediately arrested 
by the military. 

5. The judges of election are notified that they will be ar 
rested and held responsible by the military, should they permit 
any disloyal men to vote. 

In addition to all this there was at work beneath the surface 
a potent machinery, whose labors could be traced only by 
results, for the work was done in darkness and in secret. 

In every city, town, and considerable village in the common- 
wealth, there had long been organized, under the authority of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, a body of men known as a 
"Board of Trade," an innocent title, little expressive of their 
true functions. Under the same regulations of the Secretary, 
no shipments of goods to the interior of the State could be 
made without the jpermit of the United States custom-house 
officers at Cincinnati or Louisville. In order to obtain such a 
permit, the individual applying must have procured the recom- 
mendation of the " Board of Trade" located nearest to his place 
of business, and the recommendation was given to none but 
" loyal" men, each Board establishing its own test of " loyalty." 
Without such recommendation no merchant could hope to add 
to his stock by importation — no mechanic to replenish the ma- 
terials necessary in his calling. These inquisitorial bodies, 
therefore, held in their hands the absolute fate of every trades- 
man and mechanic in the State. The prosperous merchant 



140 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

and needy shopkeeper were alike at tlieir mercy. The trades- 
man and mechanic were thus left to choose between a vote for 
Bramlette and the utter ruin of their business. 

Such were the circumstances under which the election of 
August 3d was begun. In twelve counties not a single vote 
was permitted to be cast for Wicklitfe. In eight others he re- 
ceived less than ten votes to the county. In fifteen others he 
received less than fifty votes to the county. In sixteen others 
he received less than one hundred votes to the county. These 
fifty-one counties embraced many of the strongest Democratic 
counties in the State. In only twenty-eight counties of the 
State did Bramlette receive a majority of the population en- 
titled to vote. Less than two-fifths of the population entitled 
to vote made him Governor of Kentucky. Thus was the fate 
of Kentucky sealed, and, on the 1st of September, Bramlette 
entered upon the duties of the office into which he had been 
foisted by bayonets. 

We have briefly seen what little comfort there was for the 
Confederates in the fall elections of 1863, and the contemporary 
political movements in the North. We naturally glance from 
this part of the situation, external to the military campaigns, 
to the European relations of the Confederacy. Here there was 
quite as little encouragement for the South as in that other 
alternative of hope outside the war — Yankee politics. 

OUR EUROPEAN RELATIONS. 

Some feeble attempt was made by the Confederacy in the 
fall of 1863 to reassert its dignity by the dismissal of the 
foreign consuls, who had been, oddly enough, allowed for 
nearly three years to reside in the Confederate States, and exer- 
cise super-consular powers under authority granted by the 
government with which we were at war. The force of this pro- 
ceeding was, however, much impaired by the fact that it was 
attributed to certain objectionable action of the British consuls 
in the Confederacy, and not based, as it should have been, upon 
the conduct and bearing. towards us of the British Government 
itself. Put upon that ground, the dismissal would have marked 
distinctly our sense of British injustice. 

We have referred in former pages to the prejudicial effect 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAB. 141 

of so-called British "neutrality" with respect to the Confede- 
rate States. Another instance was now to be afforded of its 
unequal and unjust disposition in the seizure by the British 
Government of two two-thousand-ton iron-clads, combining the 
ram and monitor principles, which were being built for the 
Confederacy by the Messrs. Laird, at Birkenhead. The seizure 
was made without any evidence to justify it. The Messrs. 
Laird were forbidden to allow these vessels to leave their yard 
" without an ample explanation of their destination and a sus- 
tainable reference to the owner or owners for whom they are 
constructed." It was curiously held by Lord Russell that 
" Messrs. Laird were bound to declare — and sustain on unim- 
peachable testimony such declaration — the government for 
whom the steam rams have been built." In other words, with- 
out an affidavit or other legal foundation for proceedings 
against them, these gentlemen were required to come forward 
and prove their innocence. 

The animus displayed in this proceeding was in keeping with 
the whole conduct of the British ministry towards this country. 
They suspended, to our great detriment, the law of nations 
which allowed captures at sea to be taken into neutral ports for 
condemnation. They ignored and violated their own solemn 
engageuient in the Treaty of Paris, requiring that a blockade, 
to be acknowledged and binding, should be such as actually to 
exclude ships from ingress or egress. They allowed their 
Foreign Enlistment Act to be inoperative against our enemy, 
permitting them not only to supply themselves with vast quan- 
tities of arms and ammunition, but even to recruit their armies 
from British dominions. But they had revived against us a 
law practically obsolete, and, in order to give it force and 
make it applicable, they had reversed a principle of law to bo 
found in the codes of all free countries. 

But, notwithstanding the invidiousness of foreign powers, 
especially against the naval efforts of the Confederacy, it was 
a matter of surprise how much we had accomplished upon the 
sea against an enemy whose navy was his particular boast. A 
few solitary ships, hunted by vast navies, had maintained in 
foreign seas a warfare that required not only the loftiest cour- 
age, but the most consummate skill, the most sleepless vigilance, 
and the most perfect self-reliance. 



142 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Two years had passed since Semmes commenced his cruise 
in the Sumter, since which time about one hundred and lifty 
Yankee vessels, vahied, witli their cargoes, at ten million 
dollars, had been captured by vessels under the Confederate 
flag. From the first appearance of the little schooner, Jeff 
Diwl% the Confederate navy had been the terror of the entire 
Yankee mercantile marine * 

The effect of our privateering on Yankee commerce and ton- 
nage was already immense. Since the commencement of the 
war, three hundred and eighty-five vessels, with an aggregate 
tonnage of more than one hundred and sixty-six thousand tons, 
had been transferred to foreigners at the port of New York 
alone, most of which were sailiiiij: nnder the flas: of Great 
Britain, the most prominent commercial rival of the Yankee. 
At other ports the same practice had prevailed, and it would 
be fair to estimate the loss of Yankee tonnage under it, durine: 
the past two years, at three hundred thousand tons. This loss 
to the North, as a matter of course, involved a consequent in- 
crease of the tonnage and power of its rivals. 

In the first six months of the year 1860 the number of ves- 
sels cleared at New York for foreign ports was seventeen hun- 
dred and ninety-five, of which eleven hundred and thirty-three 
were Americati and six hundred and sixty-two foreign — a dif- 
ference of nearly one hundred per cent, in favor of American 
vessels; while, during the" same period of the present year, 
there had been twenty-one hundred and ninety-seven clear- 
ances, of which fourteen hundred and fifty were foreign and 
only seven hundred and forty-seven American — showing an 
increase in the number of foreign vessels, and a difference in 
their favor, as compared with the first named period, of about 
two hundred per cent. 

The Yankees had a navy which was daily increasing, and 
one which, in war-making power, already exceeded vastly any 
navy in the, world. Yet it was impotent against a few Con- 

* A roport was made to the Yankee Congress of captures by Confederate 
cruisers up to the 30tli of January, 1864. The list, wliich was not complete, 
foots up li);{, with a tonnage of 89,704. At fifty dollars a ton, the vessels are 
valued at $4,485,200 ; the cargoes, at one hundred dollars a ton, are estimated 
at $8,1)70,400. Total value, $13,455,500. Sixty-two were captured by the Ala- 
bama, twenty-six by the Sumter, and twenty-two by the Florida. 



THE TllTRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 143 

federate cruisers which defied its power, and burnt Yankee 
vessels even within siijht of their conitnerciid marts. 



NAVAL AFFAIRS OF THE CONFEDKRAOT. 

We take occasion liere to make a brief summary of wliat 
had been accomplished in the naval affairs of the Confederacy 
since the commencement of the war. At that time, but seven 
steam war vessels had been built in the States now forming 
the Confederacy since the war of 1812, and the engines of 
oidy two of these had been contracted for in these States. All 
the labor or materials requisite to complete and ecpiip a war 
vessel could not bo commanded at any one point of the Con- 
federacy. 

To these disadvantages was to be added the notorious incom- 
petency of the Confederate Secretary of the Navy. His con- 
tracts were injudicious; and there was traced more or less 
dir<*ctly to his mismanagement, the destruction of the Vir- 
ginia-Merrimac, the Louisiana, the Mississippi, the vessels in 
Lake Ponchartrain, bayou St. John, the Yazoo and Mississippi 
rivers, and elsewhere. 

Yet the department, with all its drawbacks, could now 
exhibit results of no mean order. It liad erected a powder- 
mill, which supplied all the powder required by our navy ; 
two engine-boilers and machine-shops, and live ordnance work- 
shops. It had established eighteen yards for building war 
vessels, and a rope-walk, making all cordage, from a rope-yarn 
to a nine-inch cable, and capable of turning out eight thousand, 
per month. 

Of vessels not iron-clad, the department had purchased and 
otherwise acquired and converted to war vessels, forty-four. 

Had built and completed as war vessels, twelve. 

Had partially constructed and destroyed to save from the 
enemy, ten. 

And had now nnder construction, nine. 

Of iron-clad vessels, it had completed and had now in com- 
mission, fourteen. 

Uad completed and destroyed, or lost by capture, four. 



144 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

Had in progress of construction and in various stages of for- 
wardness, twenty. 

It had, also, one iron-clad floating battery, presented to the 
Confederate States by the ladies of Georgia ; and one iron-clad 
ram partially completed and turned over to the Confederacy 
by the State of Alabama. 

• Taking into consideration the poverty of our means, and 
the formidable naval power and boundless resources of our 
enemy, at the beginning of this war, our people had no 
sufficient cause for shame or discouragement in the operations 
of our navy. 



LEE'S FLANK MOVEMENT IN VIRGINIA. 

We must return from the discussion of these general subjects 
to the military campaign of the later months of 1863, and take 
up the long-suspended story of Lee's army in Yirginia. 

Since its campaign into Pennsylvania, it had rested on the 
Rapiilan. In October General Lee was prepared to put into 
execution a campaign which promised the most brilliant re- 
sults, as its ultimate object appears to have been to get between 
Meade and AVashington. 

With the design of bringing on an engagement with the 
Yankee army, which was encamped around Culpepper Court- 
house, and extending thence to the Rapidan, Lee's army 
crossed that river on the 9th instant, and advanced by way of 
Madison Court-house. Our progress was necessarily slow, as 
the march was by circuitous and concealed roads, in order to 
avoid tlie observation of the enemy. 

General Fitz Lee, with his cavalry division and a detachment 
of infantry, remained to hold our lines south of the Rapidan ; 
General Stuart, with Hampton's division, moved on the right 
of the column. With a portion of his command he attacked 
the advance of the enemy near James City, on the 10th, and 
drove them back towards Culpepper. Our main body arrived 
near that place on the 11th instant, and discovered that the 
enemy had retreated towards the Rappahannock, removing or 
destroying his stores. We were compelled to halt during the 
rest of the day to provision the troops, but the cavalry, under 



TilE TUIUD YEAK OF THE WAK. 145 

General Stuart, continued to press tlie enemy's rear guard 
towards the Happaluinnock. A lar<>;e force of Federal cavalry, 
in the mean time, had crossed the llapidan, after our move- 
ment begun, but vi'as repu4sed by General Fitz Lee, and pur- 
sued towards Brandy Station. 

Near that place the commands of Stuart and Lee imited, on 
the afternoon of the 11th, and, after a severe engagement, 
drove the enemy's cavalry across the Rappahannock, with 
heavy loss. 

On the morning of the 12th, the army marched in two 
columns, with the design of reaching the Orange and Alexan- 
dria raih'oad, north of the river, and interrupting the retreat of 
the enemy. 

After a skirmish with some of the Federal cavalry at Jefi'er- 
sonton, we reached the llappahannock at Warrenton Springs, 
in the afternoon, where the passage of the river was disputed 
by cavahy and artillery. The enemy was quickly driven oif 
by a detachment of our cavalry, aided by a small force of in- 
fantry and a battery. Early next morning, 13th, the march 
was resumed, and the two colunms united at Warrenton in the 
afternoon^ when another halt was made to supply the troops 
with provisions. The enemy fell back rapidly along the line 
of the railroad, and early on the 14tli the pursuit was con- 
tinued, a portion of the army moving by way of Kew Balti- 
more towards Bristoe Station, and the rest, accompanied by 
the main body of the cavalry, proceeded to the same point by 
Auburn Mills and Greenwich. Near the former place a 
skirmish took place between General Ewell's advance and the 
rear guard of the enemy, which was forced back and rapidly 
pursued. 

The retreat of the enemy was conducted by several direct 
parallel roads, while our troops were compelled to march by 
difficult and circuitous routes. We were consequently unable 
to intercept him. General Hill arrived iirst at Bristoe Station, 
where iiis advance, consisting of two brigades, became engaged 
with a force largely superior in numbers, posted behind the 
railroad embankment. 

The action of Bristoe Station was a disastrous affair for the 
Confederates. Hill's brigades were repulsed with considerable 
loss in killed and wounded, and the loss of live pieces of 

10 



146 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

artillery. The Yankees reported their loss at fifty-one killed 
and three hundred twenty-nine wounded, and claimed to have 
ca})tiired four hundred and fifty prisoners. 

The repulse at Bristoe proved *the end of General Lee's 
plans, so far as they embraced the view of getting on Meade's 
coHimunications, or reaching Centreville before him. Before 
the rest of the troops could be brought up to Hill's assistance 
and the position of the enemy ascertained, Meade retreated 
across Broad Run. Tiie next morning he was reported to be 
fortifying beyond Bull Run, extending his line towards the 
Little River Turnpike. 

The vicinity of tlie entrenchments around Washington and 
Alexandria rendered it useless to turn his new position, as it 
was apparent that he could readily retire to them, and would 
decline an engagement unless attacked in his fortifications. A 
further advance was therefore deemed unnecessary, and after 
destroying the railroad from Cub Run southwardly to the 
Rappahannock, the army returned on the 18th to the line of 
that river, leaving the cavalry in the enemy's front. 

The fall campaign in Virginia must be confessed a failure. 
It was an attempt by Lee to flank Meade and get between him 
and "Washington. Unfortunately the enemy appears to have 
become cognizant of the plan at the moment of its execution, 
and to have retreated with sujSicient deliberation to destroy all 
their stores that they did not carry off to the fortifications of 
Centreville. It was impossible to follow them, for the country 
was a desert in which our army could not live, while the enemy 
would be at the door of the magazines in Washington. 

But while General Lee's flank movement had thus terminated 
in disappointment, a contemporary and accompanying opera- 
tion in the Valley district had been most fortunate. When 
the movement of the army from the Rapidan commenced, 
General Imboden Avas instructed to advance down the Valley 
and guard the gaps of the mountains on General Lee's left. 
This duty was well performed by that ofticer, and on the 18th 
October he marched upon Charlestown, and succeeded by a 
well-concerted plan in surrounding the place. Imboden found 
the enemy occupying the court-house, jail, and some con- 
tiguous buildings, in the heart of the town, all loop-holed for 
muskeiry, and the court-house yard enclosed by a lieavj'^ wall 



THE THIRD TEAR OF TIJE WAR. 147 

of oak timber. To his demand for a surrender, Colonel Simp- 
son, the Yankee commander, requested an hour for consider- 
ation. Imboden offered him five minutes, to which he replied, 
"Take me, if you can." Iinl)odcn immediately opened on tlie 
building with artilieiy at less than two hundred yards, and 
with half a dozen shells drove out the enemy into the streets, 
where he formed and fled towards Harper's Ferry. At the 
edge of the town he was met by the Eighteenth cavalry and 
Gilmore's battalions. 

One volley was exchanged, when the enemy threw down his 
arms and surrendered unconditionally. The Colonel, Lieuten- 
ant-colonel, and five others who were mounted, fled at the first 
fire, and ran the gauntlet, and escaped towards Harper's Ferry, 
The force captured was the Ninth Maryland regiment and 
three companies of cavalry, numbering between four and five 
hundred, men and officers. 

As was expected, the Harper's Ferry forces, infantry, artil- 
lery, and cavalry, appeared at Charlestown in a few hours 
after Imboden had fired the first gun. The brave Confederate 
retired, fighting back this largely superior force, bringing off 
his prisoners and captured proj)crty, and inflicting considerable 
damage upon the pursuing column. 

In the course of these operations in Virginia, in the month 
of October, two thousand four hundred and thirty-six prisoners 
were captured, including forty-one commissioned officers; of 
the above number, four hundred and thirty-four were taken by 
General Imboden. 



OPERATIONS AT RAPPAHANNOCK BRIDGE. 

After the return of General Lee's army to the Rappahan- 
nock, it was disposed on both sides of the Orange and Alexan- 
di'ia railroad, General Ewell's corps on the right and General 
Hill's on the left, with the cavalry on each flank. To hold the 
line of the Rappahannotik at this part of its course, it was 
deemed advantageous to maintain our communication witli the 
north bank, to threaten any flank movement the enemy might 
make above or below, and thus compel him to divide his 
forces, when it was hoped that an opj)ortunity would be pre- 



148 THE THIKD YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

sented to concentrate on one or the other part. For this 
7 purpose a point was selected a short distance above tlie site of 
the raih-oad bridge, where the hills on each side of the river 
aftbrded protection to our pontoon bridge and increased the 
means of defence. The hill on the north side was converted 
into a tete-dc-pont^ and a line of rilie trenches extended along 
the crest on the right and left, to the river bank. The works 
on the south side were remodelled, and sunken batteries for 
additional guns constructed on an adjacent hill to the left. 
Higher up, on the same side and east of the railroad, near the 
river bank, sunken batteries for two guns, and riile-pits, were 
arranged to command the railroad embankment, under cover 
of which the enemy might advance. 

Four pieces of artillery were placed in the tete-de-pont, and 
eight others in the works opposite. 

The defence of this position was intrusted to Lieutenant- 
general Ewell's corps, and the troops of Johnson's and Early's 
divisions guarded them alternately, Rodes' division being 
stationed near Kelley's ford. 

The enemy began to rebuild the railroad as soon as we with- 
drew from Bristoe's Station, his army advancing as the work 
progressed. His movements were regularly reported by our 
scouts, and it was known that he had advanced from Warren- 
ton Junction a few days before the attack. 

His approach towards theHappahannock was announced on 
the Gth of JSTovember, and about noon next day his infantry 
was discovered advancing to the bridge, while a large force 
moved in the direction of Kelley's ford, where the first attack 
was made. 

General Rodes had the Second and Thirtieth North Carolina 
regiments, of Ramseur's brigade, on outpost duty at the river. 
As soon as he perceived that the enemy was in force, he ordered 
his division to take position in rear of the ford. While it was 
getting into line, the enemy's artillery opened upon the Second 
North Carolina, and soon drove it to shelter. The Thirtieth 
North Carolina was advanced to the assistance of the Second, 
but in moving across the open ground, was broken by the con- 
centrated fire of the enemy's artillery, and took refuge behind 
some buildings, at the river. The enemy, being unopposed, 
except by the party in the rifle-pits, crossed at the rapids, 



THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 149 

above the ford, and captured the troops defending it, together 
with a large number of the Thirtieth North Carolina, who re- 
fused to leave the shelter of the houses. 

It was not intended by General Lee to attack the enemy un- 
til he should have advanced from the river, where it was hoped, 
that by holding in check the force at the bridge, we would be 
able to concentrate upon the other. With this view. General 
Johnson's division was ordered to reinforce General Rodes. 

In the mean time a large force was displayed in our front, at 
the bridge, upon receiving information of which, General A. 
F. Hill was ordered to get his corps in readiness, and Ander- 
son's division was advanced to the river, on the left of the rail- 
road. The artillery was also ordered to move to the front. 
General Early put his division in motion towards the bridge, 
and hastened thither in person. The enemy's skirmishers ad- 
vanced in strong force, witii heavy supports, and ours were 
slowly withdrawn into the trenches. 

Hoke's brigade, of Early's division, under Colonel Godwin 
(General Hoke being absent with one regiment on detached 
service), reinforced General Hayes, whose brigade occupied the 
noi'th bank. No other troops were sent over, the two brigades 
mentioned being considered sufficient to man tlie works, and 
though inferior to the enemy in numbers, the luiture of the po- 
sition was such, that he could not attack with a front more ex- 
tended than our own. 

It was not known whether the demonstration of the enemy 
was intended as a serious attacl^, or only to cover the move- 
ment of the force that had crossed at Kelley's ford, but the late- 
ness of the hour and the increasing darkness induced the belief 
that nothing would be attempted until morning. It was be- 
lieved that our troops on the north side would be able to main- 
tain their position if attacked, and that, in any case, they could 
withdraw under cover of the guns on the north, the location 
of the pontoon bridge being beyond the reach of a direct fire 
from any position occupied by the enemy. 

As soon, however, as it became dark enough to conceal his 
movements, the enemy advanced in overwhelming numbers 
against our rifle-trenches. It was a simultaneous advance, un- 
der cover of the darkness, of the entire force of the enemy. 
The first line of the enemy was broken and shattered by our 



150 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

fire, but tlie second and third lines continued to advance at a 
double-quick, arms at a trail, and a column formed by compa- 
panies, moving down the railroad, was hurled upon our right, 
which, after a severe struggle, was forced back, leaving the 
battery in the hands of the enemy. General Hayes ordered a 
charge of the Ninth Louisiana regiment, for the purpose of re- 
taking the guns ; but his centre having been broken, and the 
two forces opposed to his right and centre having joined, ren- 
dered the execution of his purpose impracticable. Forming a 
new line after this junction, facing up the river, the enemy ad- 
vanced, moving behind our works, towards our left, while a 
line which he had formed in a ravine, above our extreme left, 
moved down the stream, thus enclosing Hoke's brigade, and 
the Seventh and Fifth Louisiana regiments, in a manner that 
rendered escape impossible. Nothing remained but surrender. 
Many of our men effected their escape in the confusion — some 
by swimming the river, and others by making their way to the 
bridge, amidst the enemy, and passing over under a shower of 
balls. General Hayes owed his escape to the fact, that after he 
was completely surrounded, and M'as a prisoner, his horse took 
fright and ran off, and as the enemy commenced firing on him, 
he concluded to make the effort to escape across the bridge, 
and was successful. 

Unfortunately no information of this attack was received on 
the south side of the river until too late for the artillery, there 
stationed, to aid in repelling it. Indeed, the darkness of the 
night, and the fear of injuring our own men who had surren- 
dered, prevented General Early from using artillery. 

Colonel Godwin's efforts to extricate his command, were 
made with a gallant desperation, that has adorned with glory 
this disaster. He continued to struggle, forming successive 
lines as he was pushed back, and did not for a moment dream 
of surrendering ; but, on the contrary, when his men had 
dwindled to sixty or seventy, the rest having been captured, 
killed, wounded, or lost in the darkness, and he was completely 
surrounded by the enemy, who were, in fact, mixed up witli 
his men, some one cried out that Colonel Godwin's order was 
for them to surrender. He immediately called for the man 
who made the declaration, and threatened to blow his brains 
out if he could find him, declaring his purpose to fight to the 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 151 

last moment, and calling upon liis men to stand by him. lie 
was literall}'- overpowered, by mere force of numbers, and was 
taken with his arms in his hands. 

Of this unfortunate surprise, which cost us the greater por- 
tion of two brigades, there is to be found some excuse in the 
circumstances that the enemy was aided by a valley in our 
front in concealing his advance from view, and that a very 
high wind effectually prevented his movements from being 
heard. General Lee declared, with characteristic generosity, 
that " the courage and good conduct of the troops engaged had 
been too often tried to admit of question." Our loss in pri- 
soners was very considerable. General Rodes reported three 
hundred of his men missing. General Early's loss in prisoners 
was sixteen hundred and twenty-nine. 

The loss of the position at Kappahannock Bridge made it 
necessary for General Lee to abandon the design of attacking 
the force that had crossed at Kelley's ford ; and his army 
was withdrawn to the only tenable line between Culpep- 
per Court-house and the Kappahannock, where it remained 
during the succeeding day. The position not being regarded 
as favorable, it returned the night following to the south side 
of the Rapidan. 

THE AFFAIR OF GERMANIA FORD. 

We shall complete here the record of General Lee's army 
for 1863 with a brief account of another affair which occurred 
at Germania ford, on the Rapidan, on the 27th of N^ovember. 

This affair appears to have been an attempt by Meade of a 
flank movement on General Lee's position, his immediate ob- 
ject being to get in the rear of Major-general Johnson's divi- 
sion. This division was composed of the Stonewall brigade, 
under Brigadier-general J. A. Walker, and Stuart's, J. M. 
Jones's, and Stafford's brigades, with four pieces of Anderson's 
artillery. These were the only troops engaged in the affair on 
our side. Opposed to them were Major-general French's corps 
(the Third), and one division of the Fifth corps. The enemy 
were in position, and opened the attack before our forces knew 
of their presence. Their object was to make a sudden attack 
from their concealed position upon our flank, disperse the 



152 THE TIIIKD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

troops and capture our wagon train. They not only failed of 
their object, but were driven from the field with considerable 
slaughter. Our loss in killed and wounded was about four 
hundred and fifty ; that of the enemy was certainly double. 

If Meade had designed a general battle — and the fact that, 
before this movement, his army had supplied itself with eight 
days' rations argues such design — this repulse and the heavy 
rains appear to have damped his ardor ; and the " on-to- 
Kichmond " was reserved for another year. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 153 



CHAPTER YIL 

The Chattanooga Lines. — Grant's Command. — The Military Division of the Missis- 
sippi. — Scarcity of Supplies in Chattanooga. — Wliecler's Kaid. — Grant's Plans. — He 
Ojtens the Communications of Chattanooga. — The Affaih of Lookout Valley. — 
Eelicf of Chattanooga. — The Battle of Missionary Ridge.— Bragg's Unfortunate 
Detachment of Longstreet's Force. — His Evacuation of Lookout Mountain. — The 
Attack on Missionary Ridge.— Hardee's Gallant Resistance. — Rout and Panic of the 
Confederates. — President Davis's First Reproof of the Confederate Troops. — Bragg's 
Retreat to Dalton. — Cleburne's Gallant Aftair. — Lonostreet's Expeoition Against 
Knoxville. — More of Bragg's Mismanagement. — Insufficiency of Longstreet's Force. 
— Difficulty in Obtaining Supplies. — His Investment of Knoxville. — An Incident of 
Personal Gallantry.— Daring of an English Volunteer. — Longstreet's Plans Discon- 
certed. — The Assault on Fort Sanders. — Devotion of Longstreet's Veterans.— The 
Yankee " Wire-net." — The Fatal Ditch. — Longstreet's Masterly Retreat. — His Posi- 
tion in Northeastern Tennessee. — He Winters his Army there. — The Affair of 
Sabine Pass, Texas.— 'The Trans-Mississippi. — Franklin's Expedition Defeated.— 
The Upper Portions of the Trans-Mississippi. — The Mis.souri " Guerillas."-j-Quan- 
trell. — Romantic Incidents. — The Virginia- Tennessee Frontier. — Operations of 
General Sam Jones. — An Engagement near Warm Springs. — The Affair of Roo-crs- 
ville. — Battle of Droop Mountain. — Tlie Enemy Baffled. — Averill's Great Decem- 
ber Raid.— The Pursuit. — The North Carolina Swamps. — The Negro Banditti in the 
Swamps.— Wild, Butler's " Jackal."— His Murder of Daniel Bright.— Confederate 
Women in Irons. — Cowardice and Ferocity of the Yankees. 



is 



We left Eosecrans in Chattanooga and General Brag^ 
hopefully essaying the investment of that place. The defeat of 
Rosecrans at Chickamauga had, despite all his attempts to 
qualify it, cost him his command, and added him to the long 
list of the victims of popular disappointment.* 

* In an oflScial statement on the Tennessee campaign, the Yankee commander- 
in-chief, General Ilalleck, attributed the defeat of Chickamauga to a disobedience 
of his orders. He stated that Barnside was ordered to connect his right with 
Rosecrans' left, and, if possible, to occupy Dalton and the passes into Georgia 
and North Carolina, so that the two armies might act as one body, and sup- 
port each other. Rosecrans was not to advance into Georgia or Alabama at 
that time, but to fortify his position and connect with Burnside. If his weak 
point — his right and the communications with Nashville — were threatened, he 
was to hand over Chattanooga to Barnside, and swing round to cover that 
flank. At the same time forces were ordered up from Memphis and other quar- 
ters to guard that side, as well as his long line of communications. General 
Burnside, as alleged by Halleck, entirely disobeyed or neglected his orders, and 
did not connect with the Army of the Cumberland, leaving a great gap be- 



154 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

On the 18tli of October General Ulysses S. Grant assumed 
command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, compris- 
ing the Departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the 
Tennessee. He was invested with plenary powers, and a mil- 
itary autocracy that extended from the Alleghanies to the 
Mississippi. Thomas was j^laced in command of the Cumber- 
land, and Burnside commanded at Knoxville. 

Grant proceeded directly to Chattanooga. lie had tele- 
graphed Thomas to hold the place to the last extremity, and 
the latter had replied, somewhat ominously, that he sliould do 
so until his army " starved." The fact was, the Yankee forces 
at Chattanooga were practically invested, tlie Confederate lines 
extending from tlie Tennessee river above Chattanooga to the 
river at and below the point at Lookout Mountain, below 
Chattanooga, with the south bank of the riv^er picketed to 
near Bridgeport, our main force being fortified in Chattanooga 
Yalley, at the foot of and on Missionary Ridge and Lookout 
Mountain, and a brigade in Lookout Yalley. The enemy's 
artiltery horses and mules had become reduced by starvation. 
It was estimated that ten thousand animals perished in supply- 
ing half-rations to the Yankee troops by the long and tedious 
route from Stevenson and Bridgeport to Chattanooga over 
Waldron's Ridge. 

"While Bragg thus held the Yankees in Chattanooga at the 
point of starvation, his cavalry had not been idle in their rear. 
General Wheeler had crossed the river in the face of a division 
of the enemy at Cotton Port Ford, and proceeded in the direc- 
tion of McMinneville, when after a sharp fight he cajDtured a 
large train and seven hundred prisoners. The train was loaded 
with ammunition and other stores, and supposed to consist of 
seven hundred wagons, all which were burned. He then at- 
tacked McMinneville, capturing five hundred and thirty pris- 
oners, and another large train, destroyed several bridges, an 
engine and a train of cars. He then moved to Shelbyville, 
where he captured a large amount of stores and burned them. 
The amount of property destroyed by him was almost without 
precedent in the annals of raiding. 

tween the two armies. It was claimed by Qeiieral Halleck that had the in- 
structions of the department been strictly followed, the disaster of Chickamauga 
would not have occurred. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 155 

On arriving at Chattanooga, General Grant seems to have 
at once appreciated tlie situation. It was decided that Hook- 
er's command at Bridgeport should be concentrated ; the plan 
agreed upon being for it to cross to the soutli side of the river, 
and to move on the wagon road, by the way of Whitesides, 
to "Wauhatchie in Lookout Yallej. On the 28th of October 
Hooker emerged into Lookout Yalley at Wauhatchie, with the 
Eleventh army corps under Major-general Howard, and Geary's 
division of the Twelfth army corps. 

In the mean time Grant had planned an expedition to seize 
the range of hills at the mouth of Lookout Yalley, which easily 
succeeded. Hooker proceeded to take up positions for the de- 
fence of the road from Whitesides, over which he had marched, 
and also the road leading from Brown's Ferry to Kelly's 
Ferry; and Major-general Palmer, who had moved up to 
Whitesides, also took position to hold the road passed over by 
Hooker. By these movements Grant calculated to secure two 
good lines for supplies from the terminus of the railroad at 
Bridgeport ; that at Whitesides and Wauhatchie, and that by 
Kelly's Ferry and Brown's Ferry. 



THE AFFAIR OF LOOKOUT VALLEY. 

The Confederates were not idle observers of these move- 
ments. On the night of the 29th October, a night attack was 
made by a portion of Longstreet's forces, with the hope of 
opening the way to the possession of the lines which had been 
lost to us by surprise, and with tlie immediate object of cap- 
turing Hooker's wagon-train. The expedition unexpectedly 
found itself fighting a whole Yankee corps, the Twelfth, under 
command of Slocum. Our force consisted of but six regi- 
ments. By the vigor of our attack the enemy's lines were 
broken. At one time the Yankees had fallen back in front, 
and on the right and left flanks, until wagon-trains and prison- 
ers were captured in the rear. But the pressure of the Yan- 
kee columns from Brown's Ferry, where it M-as known there 
were at least two corps, threatened the integrity of our posi- 
tion. It had become critical in the extreme ; and an order 
was given to retire. In this action Jenkins's brigade sutFered 



156 TIIK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

severely ; its loss in killed and wounded was said to be three 
liinulred and sixty-one. 

Grant's possession of the lines of communication south of 
the Tcimessee river was no longer disputed. By the use of 
two steamboats he was enabled to obtain supplies with but 
eight miles of wagoning, llis relief of Chattanooga was to be 
taken as an accomplished fact. 



THE BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE. 

President Davis had visited General Bragg's lines, and on 
his return therefrom made, in public, certain mysterious allu- 
sions to a campaign that was to retrieve our fortunes in the 
West. The country was shortly afterwards surprised to learn 
that Bragg had detached Longstreet from his front, and moved 
him in the direction of Knoxville, to attack Burnside. 

Of this event, so untoward for the Confederates, Grant says, 
in his official report : " Ascertaining from scouts and deserters 
that Bragg was despatching Longstreet from the front, and 
moving him in the direction of Knoxville, Tennessee, evi- 
dently to attack Burnside, and feeling strongly the necessity 
for some move that would compel him to retain all his forces 
and recall those he had detached, directions M^ere given for a 
movement against IMissionar}' Ridge, with a view to carrying 
it and threatening the enemy's communication with Long- 
street, of which I informed Burnside by telegraph on the 7th 
November.''' 

Lookout Mountain was evacuated by the Confederates, on 
the 24th of November, being no longer important to us after 
the loss of Lookout or Wills' Yalley, and no longer tenable 
against such an overwhelming force as General Grant had con- 
centrated around Chattanooga. General Bragg abandoned 
also the whole of Chattanooga Valley, and the trenches and 
breastworks runninc; alone; the foot of Missionarv Ridge and 
across the valley to the base of Lookout, and moved his troops 
up to the top of the ridge. It Avas found necessary to extend 
his right well up towards the Chickamauga, near its mouth, in 
consequence of the heavy forces which the enemy had thrown 
up the river in that direction. The ridge varies in height from 



'rillfi TllIKI) YICAK OF THE WAU. 157 

fonr to six hundred feet, and is crossed by several roads lead- 
ing out from Chattanooga. The western side next to tlie enemy- 
was steep and rugged, and in some phiees ahuost bare, the 
timber having been cut away for Hrewood. Our pickets occu- 
pied the brcastwoi-ks below, while the infantry and artillery 
were distributed along the crest of the ridge from McFarlan's 
Gap almost to the mouth of the Chickamaiiga, a distance of 
six miles or moi-e. In addition to the natural strength of tlie 
position we had thrown up breastworks along the ridge wher- 
ever the ascent was easy. 

Determined to make his attack upon Bragg's reduced num- 
bers as foimidable as possible, Grant waited for Sherman to 
come up : Sherman, strengthened by a division from Thomas's 
command, to cross the Tennessee river below the mouth of 
Chickamauga, to form a junction with Thomas, and advance 
towards the northern end of Missionary liidge. On the night 
of the 23d November, Shernuin, with four divisions, com- 
menced crossing the river. I3y daylight of the 24th, eight thou- 
sand Yankees were on the south side of the Tennessee, and 
fortified in rifle-trenches. By noon tlie remainder of Sherman's 
force was over, and before night the whole of the northern ex- 
tremity of Missionary Ividge was in his possession. In the 
mean time, Hooker scaled the western slope of Lookout Moun- 
tain. On the night of the 2'ith, the Yankee forces maintained 
an unbroken line, with open communications, from the north 
end of Lookout Mountain, through Cheat Valley, to the north 
end of Missionary llidge. 

On the 25tli of November, the enemy ])reparcd for liis grand 
assault. The Yankee army was marshalled under Grant, 
Thomas, Hooker, and Sherman, and did not number less than 
eighty-five thousand veteran troo[)s. The Confederate army, 
under Bragg, Hardee and Breckinridge, did not number half 
60 many. Longstreet's Virginia divisions and other troops had 
been sent to East Tennessee. Had these been ])resent, with 
their steady leader at the head of them, we might have won a 
victory. As it was, we ought to have won the day ; especially 
considering the advantages of our position, by which the ranks 
of the enemy were exposed to an artillery fire while in the 
plain, and to the infantry fire when they attemj^ted the ascent 
of the hill or mountain. 



158 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Grant deplo^'ed his immense masses in two heavy lines of 
battle, and sometimes in three, supported by large reserve 
forces. The spectacle was magnificent as viewed from the 
crest of Missionary Ridge. He advanced first against our 
right wing, about ten o'clock, where he encountered Hardee, 
who commanded on the right, while Bi-eckinridge commanded 
on the left. Hardee's command embraced Cleburne's, Walker's 
(commanded by General Gist, General Walker being absent), 
Cheatham's and Stevenson's divisions. Breckinridge's em- 
, braced his old division, commanded by Brigadier-general 
Lewis, Stewart's, part of Buckner's, and Hindman's com- 
manded by Patton Anderson. Tlie enemy's first assault upon 
Hardee was repulsed with great slaughter, as was his second, 
though made with double lines, supported with heavy reserves. 

The attack on the left wing was not made until about noon. 
Here, as on the right, the enemy was repulsed ; but he was 
obstinate, and fought with great ardor and confidence, return- 
ing to the charge again and again in the handsomest style, 
until one of our brigades in the centre gave way, and the 
Yankee flag was planted on Missionary liidge. The enemy 
was not slow in availing himself of the great advantages of his 
new position. In a few minutes he turned upon our flanks 
and poured into them a terrible enfilading fire, which soon 
threw the Confederates on his right and left into confusion. 
Under this confusion, the gap in our lines grew wider and 
wider, and the wider it grew the faster the multitudinous foe 
rushed into the yawning chasm. A disgraceful panic ensued. 
The whole left wing of the Confederates became involved, gave 
way, and scattered in unmitigated rout. The day was lost, and 
shamefully lost. Hardee still maintained his ground ; but no 
success of the right wing could restore the left to its original 
position. With cheers answering cheers the Yankees swarmed 
upwards. Color after color was planted on the summit, while 
muskets and cannon poured their deadl}^ thunder upon the fly- 
ing Confederates. Grant was surj^rised at the ease with which 
he had won a victory such as he had never before obtained, 
and attributed it to the dismay of the Confederates at his 
" audacit}'," and the " purposeless aiming " of our artillery 
from the crest of the ridge. 

Our casualties were shamefully small. Granted stated his 



« 

THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 159 

own loss as about five thousand in killed and wounded. He 
claimed to have taken over six thousand prisoners, forty pieces 
of artillery, and seven thousand stand of small arms. 

The disaster of Missionary Ridge was not only a great mis- 
fortune, but a grievous disgrace. Of the unhappy event, Pre- 
sident Davis said : " After a long and severe battle, in which 
great carnage was inflicted on the enemy, some of our troops 
inexplicably abandoned positions of great srt-ength, and, by a 
disorderly retreat, compelled the commander to withdraw the 
forces elsewhere successful, and finally to retire with his whole 
army to a position some twenty or thirty miles to the rear. It 
is believed that if the troops who yielded to the assault had 
fought with the valor which they had displayed on previous 
occasions, and which was manifested iu this battle on the other 
parts of the line, the enemy would have been repulsed with 
very great slaughter, and our country would have escaped the 
misfortune, and the army the mortification of the first defeat 
that has resulted from misconduct by the troops." 

On the night of the 25th of ISTovember, Bragg was in full 
retreat ; and all of his strong positions on Lookout Mountain, 
Chattanooga Valley and Missionary Eidge were in the hands 
of the enemy. His army was put in motion on the road to 
Ringgold, and thence to Dalton. 

The disgrace of this retreat was somewhat relieved by the 
spirit of the brave and undaunted Cleburne. He had been 
left to bring up the rear. The Yankee pursuing column, num- 
bering, it is estimated, about ten thousand men of all arms, as- 
saulted him before he reached Tunnel Hill. This column con- 
sisted of picked troops, who moved rapidly and fought gal- 
lantly ; but Cleburne succeeded in restraining them whenever 
he encountered them. After some desultory fighting, he suc- 
ceeded in ambuscading Thomas's advance at Taylor's Ridge, 
He managed to conceal his forces, including his artillery, until 
the enemy got within a few paces of his guns, when they poured 
grape and canister into them with the most destructive efi'ect. 
The road was filled with their dead and wounded. Our infan- 
try then sprang forward from their covert on either side of the 
road, and literally mowed them down by their well-directed 
shot. The enemy fled in confusion, leaving two hundred and 
fifty prisoners and three flags (the latter taken by the artille- 



160 THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

rists) in our hands, and from one thousand to fifteen liundrcd 
killed and wounded in the road. Grant desisted from pursuit, 
convinced by Cleburne's lesson, that the Confederates were not 
demoralized, and impressed with the necessity of despatching 
reinforcements to aid Euruside, at Knoxville. 



L0NG8TREETS EXPEDITION AGAINST KNOX.VILLE. 

We must turn, to follow the fortunes of Longstreet's ill-ad- 
vised and worse-furnished expedition against Knoxville. 

It is an indisputable fact that, when Longstreet was sent from 
General Bragg's lines, he was furnished with no subsistence 
whatever ; and in way of transportation, was provided only 
M'ith some refuse teams by Bragg's quartermaster. Despite 
these difficulties, he succeeded in subsisting his army, and in 
capturing an aggregate amount of stores from the enemy, which 
alone was a valuable result of the campaign. At Lenoir Station 
he captured a train of eighty-five wagons, many of them loaded 
with valuable medical stores. At J>ean Station he captured 
thirty wagons, a quantity of forage, and some horses. In the 
Clinch Yalley he captured forty other wagons — a particular!}'- 
rich spoil, as they were mostly laden witli sugar and coffee. 

He had been disappointed in the force which was placed 
at his command. When he started on his expedition, Steven- 
son's division was then at Loudon, some thirty miles from 
Knoxville. Stevenson was hastily recalled to Chattanooga by 
Bragg, who was suddenly awakened to the danger of an attack 
on his front ; and the first train which carried Longstreet's 
troops through to Loudon, returned with those of Stevenson. 
It appears that Longstreet's movement was thus uncovered, and 
that he was left with only eleven thousand infantry to conduct 
the campaign, arduous in all respects, against an enemy twice 
his numbers. 

On the 18th of Kovember, Longstreet drove the enemy from 
his advance lines, in front of Knoxville, close under liis works. 
This sortie was the occasion of one of those dashing feats of in- 
dividual gallantry which demands a passing notice. A breast- 
work was charged by our infantry. They winced under the 
galling fire of the enemy, and wavered, when Captain Stephen 



THE TIIIKD YKAR OF THK WAR. 161 

Northrop, an Englishman, formerly Captain of ITcr Britannic 
Majesty's 22d foot, who had joined our ranks, and was on duty 
in Alexander's artillery battalion, stationed several hundred 
yards from the scene of conflict, mounted his horse, and dash- 
ing across the plain — the only horseman in the melee — rode in 
advance of the wavering line, up to the very works of the en- 
emy; a hundred rifles were lowered upon him, but he moved 
on, and rallied the wavering line ; the work was carried, and 
Northrop borne away, with a minie ball through his shoulder, 
his sword-scabbard broken by another, and the point of his 
sword cut off by yet another. liis escape was miracuh)UH. 

Longstreet's investment of Knoxville was nearly complete. 
The enemy'could only procure supplies from one side of the 
river, and the Yankees were ali'eady restricted in their rations. 

But in the mean time news had come of Bragg's disaster, and 
nothing remained for Longstreet but to trust to the vigor of a 
decisive assault. It is not improbable that a few days more 
might have starved the Yankees into a surrender ; but we 
could not wait for the event. The enemy's cavalry were al- 
ready on the line of the railroad between Knoxville and Chick- 
amauga. Communication with General Bragg had been sev- 
ei"ed, and Loudon was threatened. 

Knoxville was well fortified. College Hill was fortified with 
a heavy fort, carrying a siege-piece of artillery. Another fort 
was thrown up on the hills, near the Summit House. The hill 
on the right of the street leading from the public square to the 
depot, had a strong fort. Near the ITumphrey's was another. 
The hill known as Temperance Hill, had two heavy forts. 
Another rise had two batteries. The heights south of Knox- 
ville were also fortified, and connected with these immense for- 
tifications was one continuous line of rifle-pits and breastworks, 
from the extreme east of Knoxville, on the river, to the west, 
on the river. The point of attack was a strong work on the 
north-west angle of the enemy's line (the salient angle north- 
west the immediate point to be assailed). The fort was on a 
hill of considerable eminence, near the Kingston road, known 
as Fort Sanders. 

The force which was to attempt an enterprise which ranks 

with the most famous charges in military history, should bo 

mentioned in detail. It consisted of, three brigades of McLuws 

U 



162 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

division : that of General Wolt'ord, the Sixteenth, Eighteenth, 
and Tvvent^'-fourth Georgia regiments, and Cobb's and Phillips's 
Georgia legions ; that of General Humphrey, the Thirteenth, 
Seventeenth, Twenty-iirst, IVenty-second and Twenty-third 
Mississippi regiments, and a brigade composed of General An- 
derson's and Bryant's brigades, embracing, among others, the 
Palmetto State Guard, tlie Fifteenth South Carolina regiment, 
and the Fifty-first, Fifty-third and Fifty-ninth Georgia regi- 
ments. 

The signal gun broke the silence of the early dawn of the 
29th of November. The assaulting column of the Confederates 
moved up to the attack over the sIo]>e, in front of the fort, in 
a direction oblique to the Loudon road. A heavy artiller}^- 
iire was opened upon them at the first advance. Despite the 
storm of canister which howled around them, on came the de- 
voted men, with brigade fiont, slowly ])ouring over the rail- 
road cut, and anon quickening in motion as the ground pre- 
sented less obstruction, until at last, emerging from the nearest 
timber, they broke into the charge. 

Across the open space which intervened between the timber 
and the fort, and which was crossed with logs and the stumps 
of felled trees, the Confederates came at impetuous speed. But 
the enemy had prepared for them a device quite worthy of 
Yankee ingenuitj'. Among the stumps which covered the 
slope, the Yaidvees had woven a netivorh of wire. Lines of 
telegraph wire had been stretched through the low brush, and 
coiled from stump to stump, out of ordinary view. The fore- 
most of the assaulting column stumbled, one falling over an- 
other, and were thrown into some confusion, until the cause of 
the obstruction was discovered. The enemy took advantage of 
the momentary halt and confusion to pour a devouring fire upon 
the broken lines. The embrasures of the fort, and the whole 
line of the parapet blazed at once with discharges. But still 
the gallant Confederates pressed on, their battle-flags of red, 
with cross of blue, floating triumphantly above their heads. 
Rallying over the temporary obstruction, leaping the stumps 
and logs, and pushing through the brush, they were soon within 
pistol shot of the fort. The enemy reserved his tire. He had 
treble-shotted some of his guns, and others were loaded with 
terrible canister. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 163 

Suddenly all the enemy's guns launched forth their missiles 
of death. Our lines were shattered ; but with a terrible cour- 
age, some of the Confederates sprang into the ditch, clambered 
up the glacis, and almost side by side with the Yankee flag 
planted their own. But the rear of the assaulting column had 
given way. Others remained with their officers, who valiantly 
kept the lead to the very fort itself, and in the attempt to scale 
the glacis. There was a spatter of blood and brains as each 
head appeared above the parapet. A Confederate captain, 
with an oath, demanded the surrender of the garrison, as he 
pushed his body through one of the embrasures, and faced the 
very muzzle of the cannon. The answer to him was the dis- 
charge of the piece, when, rent from limb to limb, his mangled 
corpse, or what was left of it, was hurled outward into the air. 
His comrades, yet essaying to get within the work, were now 
subjected to the lire of hand grenades, extemporized by cutting 
short the fuses, and the shells being then tossed over the edge 
of the parapet. Baffled at every point, and unsuppoi'ted by 
the rest of the charging column, these brave men surrendered, 
and were hauled within the fort; but not until the trench was 
filled with the dead and dying. 

In this terrible ditch the dead were piled eight or ten feet 
deep. In comparatively an instant of time, we lost seven hun- 
dred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Colonel McEl- 
roy of the Thirteenth Mississippi and Colonel Thomas of the 
Sixteenth Georgia, had both fallen mortally wounded in the 
dirch. The Yankees lost in the action not more than twenty 
men killed and wounded. 

Never — excepting Gettysburg — was there in the history of 
the war a disaster adorned with the glory of such devoted 
courage as Longstreet's repulse at Knoxville. It left him, 
considering the consequences of Bragg's defeat at Missionary 
Riclge, with no other alternative than to raise the siege and 
occupy a new line of operations. A retreat to Bragg's line 
was not contemplated, and he decided to transfer his base to a 
point where he could threaten Knoxville from the opposite 
side of the town, and establish communications with Bristol, 
Lynchburg, and Richmond. These intentions, it is said, were 
known to President Davis in advance, who, it is further said, 
advised with General Longstreet on the subject, and left 



164: TIIK THIRD YEAR OF TUE WAR. 

to his discretion the phin of campaign to be pursued in tlio 
future. 

It was in llic exercise of an independant judgment, tliat 
Lonirstrcot made his retreat to Rnssellvillc. It was one of the 
most fortunate retrea-ts of the war. It was made without the 
slightest loss. It evaded a large column of the enemy at Lou- 
don. Its immediate c»l)ject was Ilogersville, where Longstreet 
expected to get 8Uj)p]ies and milling fur his army. Our forces, 
however, being pressed by the enemy, who followed them to 
Bean Station, on the Cumberland Gap road, turned upon the 
Yankees, inilicted upon them a severe defeat, and drove them 
twelve lines before Ilussellville. 

P)y an admirable movement, Longstreet selected a position 
in Northeastern Tennessee, where he could hold communica- 
tion with his superiors in llichmond, and intrenching himself 
against all possibility of sur])rise, he proceeded to carry out 
what rcnuiined of his military plans. The Army of the Ohio 
■was weak, and he knew it. It was strong enough to hold 
Knoxville, as he had, learned by sad experience. The rein- 
forcements which were sent from Chattanooga, were with- 
drawn. He, therefore, organized his forces for conquest, not 
necessarily of territory, but of material for the subsistence of 
his troops. In this way he mamvged to overran the entire sec- 
tion of the State east of a line drawn from Cumberland Gap to 
Cleveland ; to gather within his lines all that was valuable in 
supplies of food ; and to make his army quite self-subsisting in 
a tract of country where it was thought it was impossible for 
him to remain without external aid. 

While events of dominant importance were taking place on 
the lines of Generals Lee and Bragg, there wxre distant and 
minor theatres of the contest, which, at various times in the 
fall of 1863, exhibited some remarkable episodes in the war. 
AVe shall make a rapid resume of these minor events, takilig 
the reader's attention from the Gulf Coast to the distant regions 
of the Trans-Mississippi, and thence to the frontiers of some 
of the eastern States of the Confederacy. 

THE AITAIR AT 8A1JINE PASS, TEXAS. — TUE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI. 

An engagement with the Yankee navy had occurred at Sa- 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 165 

bine Pass, the dividing line between Louisiana and Texas, on 
the 8th of September. A brilliant victory was won by the 
little Confederate garrison of Sabine Pass against the fleet of 
the enemy. Attacked by five gunboats, the fort, mounting 
but three guns of small calibre, and manned by the Davis 
Guards, Lieutenant R. M. Dowliiig, assisted by Lieutenant 
Smith, of the engineers, supported by about two hundred men, 
the whole under command of Captain F. A. Odium, steadily 
resisted their fire, and at last forced the surrender of the two 
gunboats Clifton and Sachem, badly crippling another, which 
with the others escaped over the bar. The result of this gal- 
lant achievement was the capture of two fine gunboats, fifteen 
heavy guns, over two hundred prisoners (among them the 
commodore "of the fleet), and over fifty of the enemy killed and 
Avounded, while not a man was lost on our side, or a gun 
injured. 

This demonstration of the Yankees, under command of Gen- 
eral Franklin, was part of an expedition from General Banks' 
lines against Texas. A column under Washburne had moved 
by railroad to J>rashearand 13ayou Boeuf; and another Yankee 
column had been taken by steamboats to the mouth of Red 
Hiver to go to Simmsport. But Franklin's disaster at Sabine 
Pass caused him to abandon his part of the movement; and 
on this account, and also, it is said, the low state of water, an 
expedition elaborately and ambitiously planned by Banks was 
wholly abandoned. 

In the upper portions of the Trans-Mississippi, Confederate 
operations had assumed an irregular character. The States 
beyond the great river possessed many advantages for the 
maintenance of their defence. In provisions they abounded 
beyond any other part of the Confederacy. In the various 
requisites for establishing and supplying an army they were 
by no means destitute. Through Mexico they had been en- 
abled to make good their deficiencies, to some extent, by 
importation. 

(Treat activity seemed to pervade the Trans-Mississippi, and 
brilliant actions performed by small bodies of men charac- 
terized it, instead of sanguinary and resultless battles. The 
nature of the country and the requirements of the situations 
had no doubt wrought a considerable change in the character 



166 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

of the warfare carried oa in that region ; but altliongli no 
signal indications of strategic skill might be traceable, marks 
of dash and daring were plainly discernible. • 

But while Texas and Arkansas still maintained formidable 
military organizations, in unhappy Missouri the Confederates 
were well nigh driven to the wall. Quantrell, the famous 
partisan chief, was compelled, in the fall of 18G3, to make his 
exodus from Missouri. 

Towards the middle of September the guerillas reunited at 
Blackwater, and were ready in a few hours to leave their ren- 
dezvous for their march South, Cold nights and occasional 
frost had warned them to leave Missouri, and like poor house- 
less birds of passage, beaten by the pitiless storm, they sought 
a more genial clime, where the grass was green and Yankees less 
numerous. Missouri would aftbrd no shelter of safety after win- 
ter had set in ; the bare and leafless forests no hiding places, 
and the pure driven snow would aft'ord to the enemy the best 
means of tracking the hunted and hungry guerillas whenever 
they should leave their holes in search of food. Outlawed by 
an order of Ceneral Blount, proscribed by every Yankee offi- 
cial, the citizens warned against furnishing food or shelter 
under the crudest and severest penalties, the very earth almost 
denying them a resting-place, the gallant three hundred broke 
up their rendezvous and left for the plains of Texas. 

The romantic adventures of these men in the Indian coun- 
try were of thrilling interest. At one time, they came upon 
a party of Yankees near Fort Smith, who mistook them for 
comrades. The little Confederate command was drawn up in 
line of battle, motionless as statues, with Quantrell at their 
head on his war-horse, looking grimly at a brilliant cavalcade of 
horsemen forming beautifully about three hundred yards in 
front. The whisper ran through the line, "It is old Blount, 
and he thinks we are Yankees coming out to give him a recep- 
tion !" It was true. There rode General Blount and stall', 
glittering in blue cloth and gold lace, and about two hundred 
of his body guard ; just then the cavalcade moved, .and the 
band commenced playing Yankee Doodle. Quantrell moved 
also ; but the quick eye of Blount discovered something wrong 
and called a halt. But the guerillas by this time were under 
full gallop, and down they swept upon the brilliant cortege 



THK TIIIKD YKAlt OF TIIK WAR. 167 

like an avalanche and hurled them to the earth. The struggle 
was sliort and fierce ; the sliock terrlHc, as guerilhi rode over 
Loth horse and his rider, and dashed out the brains of the lat- 
ter as he passed. Again and again they turned and fired, 
charged and recharged, until the ground was strewn with the 
dead, ambulances overturned, and horses flying madly in every 
direction.* 



THE VIKOINIA-TRNNHSSEE FKONTIEE. 

The frontier in which we include the vast body of land laying 
generally between General Lee's lines in Virginia and East 
Tennessee, was one of the most important of the minor theatres 
of tlie war. 

What was known as the Department of West Virginia and 
East Tennessee, was under the command of Major-general Sam 

* A stirring episode of this engagement is told by one who participated in it. 
We give it, in his words, as a characteristic incident of the romance of jmrti- 
san warfare : 

" Lieiit(!nant-c()lonel Curtis, adjutant-goneral on GciKiral Blount's staff, rode 
a magnificent horse, riclily caparisoned, and was himself dressed in the richest 
uniform of his rank. He was a n^marlcably handsome num, fair, and rosy, eyes 
blue as tliose of the fairest blonde of his own clime ; palcf, fair, tall, slender 
figure — with features as beautiful as those of a woman. He was well arm(;d 
with pistol and sabre, and used them gallantly. He sees that his forci; is de- 
feated, and determines to escape. But as ho turns his liorse's head hv encoun- 
ters the fierce ey<^ of a young guerilla as handsome, as brave and as well 
mounted as himself, bearing right down upon him. He observes the adjutant- 
general endeavoring to escape; calls to him to stop and fight. He does 
turn to meet the guerilla now swooping down upon liim like an eagle on its 
prey. The Yankee fires a long-range gun, but misses his aim ; he draws his 
six-shooter and rai)idly, nervously discharges the contents at his advcsrsary, 
who all this time is gaining on him and dashing straight at him. 

" As an eagle swoops down on his j)rey, gracefully and grandly ferocious, 
beautiful evi^n in th(^ act of destruction, bo does Peyton Long, the young hero, 
gallantly bear down on the " cute" Yankee ; he reserves every shot, while 
Curtis is wasting his ; he dashes upon him — both pause for an instant as if in 
mutual admiration — but only for a moment. Peyton Long watches his antag- 
onist, and sways his body to the left to escape the sabre cut of tlu; Yaidicn; ; 
the next instant the inevitable six-shooter of the guerilla is pointed at the head 
of the splendid-looking fellow ; it is the work of an instant ; Peyton strikes 
like an eagle, and all is over! A shout of triumph rose from the throng of 
guerillas, who had ceased the fight to watch the encounter between this well- 
matched couple." 



1G8 THE THEBD YEAR OF THE WAK. 

Jones, one of tlic most active of Confederate commanders. Of 
events in his department we must make a rapid summary, 
•which, however, will admit some detail of his most interesting 
operations. 

For many montlis operations had been active in this De- 
partment to cope with raids under the energetic direction of 
the somewhat famous Yankee commander General Averill. 
()n the 2C)th of August a portit>n of General Jones's forces en- 
countered the enemy alxtut a mile and a half from Dublin, on 
the road leading to the Warm Sj)rings. Every attack made by 
the enemy was repulsed. At night each side occupied the 
same position they had in the morning. The next morning the 
enemy made two other attacks, which were handsomely re- 
])ulsed, when he abandoned his position and retreated towards 
"Warm Springs, pursued by cavalry and artillery. The troops 
engaged were the first brigade of Jones's army. Colonel George 
S. l*atton connnanding. The enemy were about three thousand 
strong, with six pieces of artillery, under Brigadier-general 
Averill. Our loss was about two hundred killed and wounded. 
The enemy's loss was not known. We took about one hundred 
and fifty prisoners and a piece of artillery. 

On the Cth November occurred an affair at Rogersville, 
East Tennessee, which was a considerable success for the Con- 
federates. Information of a reliable character was received by 
General Hansom of the exact position, numbers and condition 
of the Yankees at Big Creek, four miles east of Eogersville. 
The nearest supporting force being at Greenville, he conceived 
the idea of cutting them off by a rapid night march of cavalry 
upon their front and rear. The attack was successful. Among 
the fruits of the expedition were eight hundred and fifty pri- 
soners, four pieces of artillery, sixty wagons, and several hun- 
dred animals. 



BATTLE OF DROOP MOUNTAIN. 

On the same day (6tli November) occurred an important 
action between another portion of General Jones's forces, and 
the redoubtable Averill. 

At nine o'clock on the morning of the 6th of November 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 169 

Ecliols' brigade, consisting of a regiment and battalion of 
infantry, and six pieces of artillery, came up to the support of 
Colonel Wm. L. Jackson, commanding Confederate forces in 
the Northwest (who was closely pushed by General Avei'ill), 
on Droop Mountain, in the county of Pocahontas, twenty-eight 
miles north-east of Lewisburg. The entire forces of the two 
commands thus united, amounted to about fifteen hundred 
infantry and dismounted cavalry, and eight pieces of artillery. 
The position of our men, naturally a very strong one, was 
selected with groat judgment by Colonel Jackson, on the 
western extremity of Droop Mountain. At ten o'clock, the 
enemy, who had remained in the front of Colonel Jackson 
since daybreak, with a force amounting to seven thousand five 
liundred mounted infantry and cavalry, and eight ])ieces of 
artillery, commenced his advance upon us, by posting his long- 
range guns on an eminence to our right, and by advancing his 
line of skirmishers upon our right and left ; and brisk skirmish- 
ing then ensued, which continued from time to time until the 
light became general between our infantry and dismounted 
cavalry and those of the enemy. 

The monstrously unequal combat was kept up for several 
liours. Our men fought with the utmost gallantry and deter- 
mination, and stubbornly maintained their position against an 
enemy five times their number until they were well nigh sur- 
rounded. Human endurance could hold out no longer ; the 
troops on the right gave away before overwhelming numbers, 
while the enemy were ra})idly flanking those on the left. Just 
at this stage of proceedings, General Echols, seeing that if he 
remained longer his retreat would be cut off, withdrew the 
troops from the field and ordered a retreat in the direction of 
Lewisburg. Our loss in killed and wounded was about three 
liundred. Although the action terminated in the retreat of 
the Confederates, yet they had given an exhibition of spirit 
among the proudest in the war. Our little army had wrestled 
in deadly conflict with an enemy five times its strength for 
seven long hours; and when they did retreat, succeeded in 
bringing off all of our quartermaster and commissary stores, 
together with our trains and artillery, leaving to the enemy no 
trophies over which to exult, save the bodies of our gallant 
dead. 



170 THE THIRD tp:ar of the war. 

So far as the beneficial results of tlie expedition to the 
enemy could be estimated they amounted to nothing. They 
camd with two large forces, amounting, in the aggregate, to 
nearly ten thousand men, with the expectation of capturing 
the command of Colonel Jackson and General Echols' brigade, 
and of moving then upon our interior lines of railroad. By 
fighting, however, so far from the interior, and by being so 
checked and damaged and baffled as they were, they failed in 
the one object and abandoned the other. 

But the o-reat raid of Averill seems to liave been reserved 
for December. He came from New Creek, a depot on the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, in the county of Hardy, along 
the western base of the Shenandoah mountains, through 
Covington to Salem, burning and destroying what he could in 
his path. His command consisted of four regiments of mounted 
infantry, a battalion of cavalry, and a battery. On the 16tli 
of December he cut the Virginia and Tennessee railroad at 
Salem. Here three depots were destroyed, the contents of 
which were officially stated by Averill to have been 2,000 
barrels of flour, 10,000 bushels of wheat, 100,000 bushels of 
shelled corn, 50,000 bushels of oats, 2,000 barrels of meat, 
several cords of leather, and 1,000 sacks of salt. 

On his retreat, the adventurous Yankee had to run the 
gauntlet of difi'erent Confederate commands, arranged in a 
line extending from Staunton to Newport upon all the avail- 
able roads to prevent his return. Having captured a despatch 
from General Jones to General Early, Averill deflected from 
the line of his retreat and instead of passing through Buchanan, 
moved towards Covington. 

Colonel AVilliam L. Jackson moved his command down to 
Jackson's river depot, and directed the bridge to be burned as 
soon as it was ascertained that the enemy were advancing to- 
wards it. Jackson then took a strong position near the Jackson's 
river depot, at the point where the Bich Patch road connects 
the Covington turnpike. He then directed his mounted men, 
under Cajjtain Sprague, to' move on the Bich Patch road until 
they met the enemy's advance, and to attack them desperately, 
and cut the column in two, if possible. At four o'clock on 
Saturday evening, the 19th December, a courier from Captain 
Sprague announced the approach of the enemy by that road, 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 171 

and that lie had commenced a skirmish with Averlll's advanced 
forces. Jackson immediately ordered an advance of the Twen- 
tieth Virt^inia lii^giment by a blind road, so as to attack the 
enemy obliquely. lie also ordered the Nineteenth Virginia 
Tiegiment to advance on the Covington tni'npike road, and to 
attack the enemy directly. At that ])oint Jackson conceived 
the idea of taking a detachment of about fifty men, and move 
forward with them for the purpose of striking the enemy vigo- 
rously, and cutting his colunm in two. In this he succeeded 
perfectly. One half of the Yankees were thus separated from 
the other half, which was under the immediate command of 
Averill, and who ra})idly passed forward towards the Island 
Ford bridge. Persons entrusted with the burning of the Island 
Ford bj'idge failed to do so, however, owing to the rapid ad- 
vance of the enemy upon that point. The advance, under 
Averill in person, thus managed to make their escape across 
the bridge. 

There remained in Jackson's hand about two hundred pri- 
soners, Averill continued his retreat to Pocahontas county. 
On the 22d December he wrote to the War Department at 
"Washington : "My command has marched, climbed, slid and 
swam three hundred and fifty miles since the 8th instant." 

THE NORTH CAROLINA SWAMPS. 

We have referred in this chapter to the occult romances of 
warfare in the Trans-Mississippi. Put there was a district 
much nearer the capital of the Confederacy, to which all eyes 
were turned to witness certain thrilling scenes, a drama of 
cruelty such as the world had seldom seen, even in the wars 
and outrages of barbarians. 

We refer to the north-eastern parts of North Carolina. In 
Camden and Currituck counties, and in the country lying 
generally between Franklin on the Plackwater and the Roan- 
oke river, a series of atrocities was committed by the enemy at 
which the blood runs cold. It is difficult to find words of de- 
scription for the pictures of the wild and terrible consequences 
of the negro raids in this obscuie theatre of the war. The 
country was traversed by negro banditti ; they burned houses ; 
they entered the parlors of their masters ; they compelled ladies 



172 THE THIRD YICAR OF THE WAE. 

•to entertain them on the piano, cursed and abused them, 
stripped them of tlieir jewehy and clothing, and offered them 
indignities which it would offend delicacy to describe. 

The fiat seemed to have gone forth for stern and terrible 
work on the North Carolina frontier, in thi^ dark and melan- 
choly country of swamps, overrun with negro banditti, and 
now the especial theatre of the war's vengeance. The country 
was a rich one, comparing favorably with the Mississippi bot- 
toms, and one of th# most important sources of meat supplies 
which was at this time accessible to our armies. To protect 
this country as far as possible, forces were raised, under autho- 
rity of the Government of North Carolina, for local defence 
and to repel invasion ; they were duly organized, and their 
officers were commissioned by the governor, and for a year or 
more had been in the regular service of the State. The 
Yankees found it convenient to designate these forces as 
"guerillas," in order to justify the fiendish warfare of negro 
partisans and white banditti, who were invited to prey upon 
the population. 

In December, a force of negroes, under the command of 
Brigadier-general Wild, who emulated the brutal disposition 
and ferocious cowardice of his master, " Beast " Butler, invaded 
the north-eastern parts of North Carolina. In the county of 
Pasquotank, forty miles from Norfolk, he hung Daniel Bright 
at his own house. lie seized more than one hundred thousand 
dollars' worth of personal property in the adjoining counties; 
stripped the farmers of every living thing, and brought it all 
away, leaving hundreds of inhabitants without a pound of meat 
or a peck of meal. 

Daniel Bright was a member of the Sixty-second Georgia 
regiment, under command of Colonel J. R. Grifiin, and had 
received authority from the Governor of North Carolina to 
raise a company in the county for local defence. Failing in 
the effort, he had retired to his farm, and was there seized, car- 
ried off and executed. lie was hung on the side of the public 
road, and a placard fiistened upon his back. 

But the most brutal of all the outrages of Wild was the seiz- 
ure, as " hostages " for two of his negroes who had been cap- 
tured, of two most respectable married ladies, Mrs. Phoebe 
Munden, wife of Lieutenant W. J. Munden, and Mrs. Eliztibetli 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 173 

Weeks, wife of Private Fender "Weeks, of Captain John T. 
Elliot's company. The first was arrested at her own house, in 
the presence only of her three children, of whom the oldest was 
ten years of age, conveyed a few miles to Elizabeth City, con- 
lined in a room Avithout tire, bed or bedding, with several male 
prisoners, and tied by the feet and hands. A negro guard was 
placed in charge of the prisoners. The succeeding day, the 
other lady, Mrs, Weeks, was placed in the same room. They 
were constantly guarded, and neither was allowed to leave the 
room for the most necessary duty, but in conjpany with an 
armed negro soldier. Mrs. Munden was in delicate health, and 
foi'ced from a home immediately laid in ashes, with all it con- 
tained, without other apparel than she wore upon her person, 
and passed several nights in the cheerless and cold apartment 
to which she was confined at that inclement season, before the 
humanity of her captors was so far softened as to permit 
blankets to be furnished for her use. They were kept some 
days and then removed to Norfolk. When Mrs. Mnnden was 
carried off, her wrists were bleeding with the stricture of the 
cord with which she was bound, and it is said that a negro was 
allowed by Wild to hold the cord that bound her, and thus 
drive her into Norfolk. 

Such were the scenes which illustrated the Yankee idea of 
prosecuting the war with " vigor," and gratified the vile and 
cowardly revenge of those who, in luxurious cities and com- 
fortable homes, clamored for the blood of " rebels," and even 
claimed women and children as their victims. 



174 THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER YIII. 

The Trosident's Dcclimition to tlic Confederate Congress of 1803-64.— "Want of 
Capacity" in the Confederate Authorities.— Character of Jetferaon Davis.— Official 
Sliiftlessnesa at Richmond.— Early Prognostications of the War. — The " Statesuian- 
ship" of the Confederates. — Ludicrous Errors of Confederate Leaders. — What "King 
Cotton" inigiit luive done. — Gross Mismanagement of tiie Confederate Finances. — Mr. 
Mciiiniiiiger's Mahulministration. — The Moral Evils of an P>.\panded Currency. — The 
Military Situation in December. — Secretary Seddon's Shameful Confession. — "De- 
inagogueism" in the Confederate War Depiirtmont.— Seddon's Propositions. — Military 
" Substitutes." — An Act of Perfidy. — Bullying in Congress. — Spirit of the Confederate 
Sohlierv. — Lincoln's " Pkaok Puoclamation." — Its Stupidity, Insolence, and Out- 
rage. — How tlie Confederates Keplied to it. — A New Appeal Against " Kecou- 
struction.'' — The Slavekv Qukstion in the- Wak. — A French Opinion. — The 
Abolitionists Unmasked. — Decay of European Syinpathy with Them. — Review of 
Lincoln's " Enunicipation" Policy. — The Arming of the Blacks. — The Negro Coloni- 
zation Schemes. — Experiments of New England "Civilization" in Louisiana. — 
Frightful Mortality of " Freedtncii." — The Appalling Statistics of Emancipation. — 
The Contraband Camps in the Mississijipi Valley. — Pictures of Yankee Philanthropy. 
— "Slavery" Tested by the War. — The Confederates the True Friends of the Africiiu 
Laborer. — The System of Negro ^'ervilinie in the Confederacy. — The " War-to-the- 
Knife" Party in the North. — IIistokv of the "Retaliation" Policy. — The Outrages 
of Yankee Warfare. — President Davis's Sentimentalism. — Tlie Record of his Unpar- 
donable and Unparalleled Weaki\css. — A Peep into Yankee Prisons. — The Torture- 
Houses of the North. — Captain Morgan's Experience Among "the Convict-Drivers." 
• — President Davis's Bluster. — His Two Faces. — Moral Effects of Submission to Yankee 
Outrage. — The Rival Administrations in December 1SG3. — Richmond and Washing- 
ton. — Mr. Lincoln's Gaiety. — Now Issues for the Confederacy. 

At tlie meeting of the Confederate Congress, in December, 
1863, President Davis said: "We now know that the only 
reliable hope for peace is in the vigor of our resistance, while 
the cessation of their [the enemy'sj hostility is only to be ex- 
pected from the pressure of their necessities." The Confederate 
Administration had at last arrived at the correct comprehension 
of the war. But it had reached this conclusion only after a 
period of nearly three years of ignorance, short-sighted conceit 
and perversity. 

The careful and candid reader of the pages of two volumes 
of the history of the war, by this writer, will bear him witness 
that at no time has he reflected upon the patriotism or the 
public integrity of President Davis. The accusation, which 



THE TIlIRn YEAR OF THE WAK. 175 

« 

lias run tlirougli these volumes, is simply this : want of capacity 
ill the administration of public ati'airs. 

It is not possible that any historian of this war can overlook 
certain admirable qualities of the President of the Confederacy : 
his literary abilities, his spruce English, his ascetic morals, the 
purity of his private life, and the extraordinary facility of his 
manners. But he was not a statesman ; he had no administra- 
tive capacities; he lacked that indispensable and practical 
element of success in all political administrations — knowledge 
of the true value of men ; and he was — probably, unconscious- 
ly througli his vanity — accessible to favorites. In the old gov- 
ernment, Mr. Davis had never been accounted as a statesman, 
but was quite as obtuse as most of the public men of that day. 
He it was, of Southern politicians, who declared in a public 
letter, in 1858, that the "Kansas Conference bill" was "the 
triumph of all for which we contended." He had failed to sec 
the origin and occasion of the revolution which he assumed to 
conduct. 

His choice of favorites in the Held had been as unapt as his 
selection of political advisers in the Cabinet. This President, 
who depreciated Price as a militiaman, and held (or i)robal)ly 
ati'ected) a light opinion of I'eauregard, was convinced that 
Peniberton was a genius who should be raised by a single 
stroke of patronage I'roni the obscurity of a major to the posi- 
tion of a Lieutenant-general ; recognized Hetli as a young 
Napoleon; selected Lovell as the natural guardian of the 
Mississippi ; declared that Holmes, M'ho had let the enemy 
slip out of his lingers at llichmond, was the appointed deliverer 
of Missouri and Arkansas, and competent to take charge of the 
destinies of an empire ; and prophesied with peculiar emphasis 
of mystery, but a few weeks before the session of Congress, in 
a public speech in a Southern city, that Bragg by that time 
would be in the heart of Tennessee, and on the pinnacles of 
victory ! 

The civil administration of Mr. Davis had fallen to a low 
ebb. There are certain minds which cannot see how want of 
capacity in our government, official shiftlessne&s and the mis- 
management of public aifairs yet consist with the undeniable 
facts of the successes of our arms and the great achievements 
of the Confederacy. But it is possible that these two conditions 



176 THE TIIIKD YEAK OF THE WAR. 

may consist — that, in a revolution, the valor and deterniinatioii 
of a i)e()2)lc may make considerable amends for the faults of its 
governors. If the history of this war lias proved one proposi- 
tion clearly it is this: that in all its subjects of congratulation, 
the "statesmanship'' of llichmond has little part or lot. Let 
those who deny the justice of this historical judgment, which 
refuses to attribute to the official authorities of this government 
such success as we have had in this war, say what they have 
contributed to it. 

The evidences of the " statesmanship'' of Eichmond were not 
to be found in our foreign relations : these were absurdities. 
They were not to be found in our provisions for the war : these 
were make-shifts from month to month. They were not to be 
found in our financial calculations : these had proved the most 
ridiculous failures in the monetary annals of the world. We 
owe this melancholy confession to history, that we do not 
know of any real and substantial particuhirs in which the 
administration of Mr. Davis has contributed to this war. The 
reverse of the proposition need not be repeated here. 

It is mortifying, indeed, to look back upon the currents of 
our history, to observe the blindness and littleness of mind, 
the conceit, the perversity, the short-sighted management on 
all which Ave have drifted into this present vastness of war and 
depths of distress. In Montgomery, at the period of the pro- 
visional inauguration of the Confederacy, any one who had the 
hardihood to insist upon the probability of a war, became a 
butt of raillery or the object of suspicion. The war once be- 
gun, the next idea in the minds of the Confederate leaders was, 
that it was to be despatched in a few months by mere make- 
shifts of armies and money, and with the scant su2)ply of 
munitions already on hand. Months intervened between Lin- 
coln's declaration of war and the actual establishment of the 
blockade. But no jise was made of this golden opportunity, 
and our importations of army supplies from Europe during all 
these months, actually may be counted in a few thousand stand 
of small arms. Secretary Mallory laughed off contractors in 
New Orleans, who offered to sell to the government a largo 
amount of navy supplies. Judah P. Benjamin, at the head of 
the War Department, wrote to a friend in the first winter of 
the war, that within sixty days the country would be at peace. 



THE THIRD YEAU OF THE WAR. 177 

Later still, in the winter of 18G2, President Davis, in a speech 
before the Lcgishitnre of Missi8sip]>i, had pronounced the 
solemn opinion that the war would soon come to an end. Yet 
we find the same eminent personage now declaring to the 
Congress of 1803, his belief in an indefinite prolongation of 
the war, and his des])air of his many brilliant former prospects 
of peace, through instrumentalities other than that of our arms. 

Able and candid journals of the North, have repeatedly con- 
fessed that they were puzzled by the extraordinary want of 
foresight and judgment displayed by the Confederate leaders, 
in their calculation at different periods of the war of the course 
likely to be pursued by Europe and the North. These errors 
might have been expected from men of little education, to 
whom selfinterest in its lowest sense was the key to all politi- 
cal problems, but by no means from persons who had studied 
politics in books. "The notion," said the New York Timas^ 
" that the North, being a commercial community, devoted to 
the pursuit of gain, was, for that reason, sure not to fight, was 
rather the conclusion of a backwoodsman tlian of a student. 
The lesson of history is that commercial communities arc 
among the most pugnacious and ambitious and most obstinate 
of belligerents : witness Carthage, Yenice, Genoa, Holland, and 
England." 

The utter failure of the calculations of the Confederate Ad- 
ministration, regarding France and England, had exhibited a 
liasty and i)assionate reasoning, of which Mr. Davis and his 
associates might well be ashamed. The idea is ludicrous now 
that at the very beginning of the American revolution, France 
and England, with their centuries of vast and varied experi- 
ence, in peace and war, would fling themselves into a convul- 
sion which their great politicians easily saw was the most 
tremendous one of modern times. Yet this idea was enter- 
tained by President Davis ; and as proof of it, the Confederate 
commissioners were instructed to apply to Earl Eussell for 
recognition in England after the first battle of Manassas ! 

At the commencement of the war, cotton was pronounced 
" King ;" and the absurd and ])uerile idea was put forward by 
the politicians of the Davis school, that the great and illustri- 
ous power of England would submit to the ineflable humilia- 
tion of acknowledging its dependency on the infant Confed- 

13 



178 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAK. 

eracy of the Soutli, and the subserviency of its empire, its 
political interests, and its pride, to a single article of trade that 
was grown in America ! And what indeed is the sum of 
advantages which the Confederacy drew from the royal re- 
sources of cotton ? It is true that these resources could not 
compel the political interests and pride of England. But, 
properly used, they might have accomplished much for the 
interests of the Confederacy. In point of fact the}'^ accom- 
plished nothing. For one year after the war commenced, the 
blockade was so slight that the whole of the cotton might have 
been shipped to Europe, and there sold at two shillings ster- 
ling a pound, giving the government, purchasing at twenty 
cents, a clear profit of six hundred millions of dollars ! We 
may even suppose one-fifth of this captured by the enemy, and 
we would still have had a balance in our favor, which would 
have enabled us to have drained every bank in Europe of its 
specie ! Or if we had drawn for this sum as we needed it, our 
treasury notes would have been equal to gold, and confidence 
in our currency would have been unshaken and universal. 

The Confederacy had thus the element at ready hand for the 
structure of one of the most successful schemes of finance in 
the world. But the government was too grossly ignorant to 
see it. The purchase of the cotton to the government was 
decried by Mr. Memminger, as a scheme of " soup-house legis- 
lation ;" and the new government was started without a basis 
of credit ; without a system of revenue ; on the monstrous de- 
lusion that money might be manufactured at will out of paper, 
and that a naked " promise to pay," was all sufficient for the 
wants of the war! 

It is to be frankly admitted that the South commenced the 
war \v\\\\ financial advantages which the Korth did not have — ■ 
that is, without reference to commercial incidents of the block- 
ade, but with respect to the sustention of its credit at home. 
The South had the cotton and the tobacco. It had the un- 
bounded sympathies of its people. It had larger taxable values 
per capita than any other country in the world. It is not pos- 
sible that with these advantages it could have wrecked its 
credit with its own people, unless through a great want of 
capacity in the administration of the government. It is not 
possible, that, with these advantages, its currency should have 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 179 

declined with its own people ten times faster than that of the 
North with its people, unless through a gross mismanagement 
of public affairs. These are logical conclusions which are not 
to be disputed. 

At the organization of the permanent government of the 
Confederacy, in February, 1862, President Davis had made 
the most extravagant congratulations to the country, on our 
financial condition in comparison with that of the North. In 
less than eighteen months thereafter, when gold was quoted in 
New York at twenty-five per cent, premium, it was selling in 
Richmond at nine hundred per cent, premium ; and by the 
time that the Confederate Congress met, in December, 1863, 
gold in Richmond was worth about two thousand per cent, 
premium, and was publicly sold, one for twenty in Confeder- 
ate notes ! Such had been the results of the financial wisdom 
of the Confederacy. It had been dictated by the President, 
who advised Congress (as late as August, 1862) to authorize 
illimitable issues of treasury notes, without fear of their depre- 
ciation, and aggravated, no doubt, by the ignorance of his 
secretary, who invented the legerdemain of "funding," that 
had given the last stab to the currency, and who opened the 
doors of the treasury to brokers, blockade-runners, and the 
vast tribes of those who lived on the depreciation of the public 
credit.* 



* The experiments of Mr. Memminger on the currency was the signal of 
multiplied and rapid depreciation. While the eccentric and pious Secretary 
%vas figuring out impossible schemes of making money, or ransacking the book- 
stores for works on religious controversy, unprincipled brokers in the Confed- 
eracy were undermining the currency with a zeal for the destruction of their 
country not less than that of the Yankees. The assertion admits of some quali- 
fication. Sweeping remarks in history are generally unjust. Among those 
engaged in the business of banking and exchange in the South, there were 
undoubtedly some enlightened and public-spirited men who had been seduced 
by the example or constrained by the competition of meaner and more avari- 
cious men of the same profession, to array themselves against the currency, 
and to commit offences from which they would have shrunk in horror, had 
they not been disguised by the casuistry of commerce and gain. 

It was generally thought in the South reprehensible to refuse the national 
currency in the payment of debts. Yet the broker, who demanded eighteen 
or twenty dollars in this currency for one in gold, really was guilty of so many 
times refusing the Confederate money. It was accounted shocking for citizens 
in the South to speculate in soldiers' clothing and bread. Yet the broker, who 



180 TIIK THIRD YKAR OF TIIK WAR. 

Of Sill tlic features of niuladniinistration in the Confederacy, 
|. Avliich we liave unwilliuii^ly traced, that of the currency was, 
certainly, the most marked, and, perhaps, the most vital. 
Nothing could bo more absurd than the faith of Mr. Davis 
and Ml". Moinininger in the virtues of paper money, and no 
cm})iricisin more ignorant and destructive than that which 
made the mere emission of paper issues a system of revenue. 
In the old government, we had had many emphatic lessons on 
the subject of pa})er money. Indeed, it is a curious and inter- 
esting fact, that in sixty years of our past history, the banking 

demanded twenty prices for gold, the representative of all values, speculated 
alike in every necessary in the country. Nor was this the greatest of their 
oflences. With unsurpassed shamolessncss, brokers in the Confederacy ex- 
pensed the currency of the North for snle, and demanded for it ten hundred per 
cent, premium over that of the Confederacy 1 This act of benefit to the Yan- 
kees was openly allowtxl by the government. A bill liad been introduced in 
Congress to prohibit tliis traffic and to extirpate this infamous anomaly in our 
history ; but it failed of enactment, and its failure can only be attributed to the 
grossest stupidity, or to sinister influences of the most dislionorable kind. The 
traflic was immensely profitable. State bonds and bank bills to the amovmt of 
many millions wivre sent North by the brokers, and the rates of discount were 
readily sulnnitttHl to when the returns were made in Yankee jiaper money, 
■which, in Kichmond shops, was worth in Confedcn-ate notes ten dollars for one. 
One — but only one — cause of tho depreciation of the Confed(>rate currency 
•was illicit trade. It had d(Uie more to demoralize the Ciuif'ederacy than any 
thing else. The inception of this trade was easily winked at by the Confed- 
erate authorities; it commenced with i)altry importations across tho Potomac; 
it was said the country wanted nuvlieines, surgical instruments, and a number 
of trifles, and that trade Avith the Yankees in these could result in no serious 
harm. But by tlu^ enlarged license of the government it soon became an infa- 
my and a curse to tlit> (^mfederacy. Wluit was a petty traffic in its commence- 
ment soon expanded into a shauK^less trade, which corrupti-d the patriotis-m of 
the coimtry, constituted an anomaly in the history of belligt>rents, and reflected 
lasting disgrace upon the honesty and good st>nse of our government. Tho 
country had taken a solemn resolution to burn the cotton in advance of tho 
enemy ; but the conflagration of this staple soon came to be a rare event ; 
instead of being committed to the flames it was spirited to Yankee markets. 
Nor were these operations always disguised. Some commercial houses in the 
Confederacy counted their gains by millions of dollars since the war, througli 
tho favor of the government in allowing them to exixnrt cotton at pleasure. 
The beneficiaries of this trade contributed freely to public cliarities, and did 
certain fiivors to the government ; but their gifts were but the parings of im- 
mense gains ; and often those who were named by weak and cr(>dulous people 
or by interested flatterers as public-spirited citizens and patriotic donors, were, 
in fact, the mo.st' unmitigated extortioners and the vilest leeches on the bodj 
politic. — " TliC Second Year of the ]Yar," — pp. 304, 805. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 181 

institutions of America had been, more or less, in a state of 
suspension for one-third of the time. 

But despite the protest of liistorical facts, against all sys- 
tems of i)uper expansion, Mr. Memminger had succeeded by 
the time of the meeting of Congress, in putting afloat some 
seven hundred millions of currency ; although at another time, 
he himself had declared that the business of the country could 
not conveniently absorb more than one hundred and lifty mil- 
lions.* And even that estimate of absorption was ridiculously 
excessive. It was so for this particular reason : that in tlio 
state of war, with its commerce cut off by the blockade, with 
no merchant ships, with few manui'uctures, with few enter- 
prises open to capital, the South afforded but little scope for 
the profitable employment of its currency. The difficulty was 
that of stagnant capital, as well us that of an expanded cur- 
rency. 

At least one reason for the comparative financial prosperity 
of ihc North, during the war, was its capacity of absorbing 
large amounts of curieney in the various functions of its active 
commercial life : in its trade open with all the world ; in its 
Bhijt[)ing whitening every sea; in its immense internal trade, 
borne over immense lines of railroad and navigable waters ; in 
its manufactures, enjoying the monopoly given them by a tariff, 
which shut out foreign competition ; in its stocks, which made 
fortunes by the million in Wall street. f 



* Befor(5 tlie war the i)apc;r money of tlic wliole country, North and Houtli, 
was two hundred and twelve uuUionH ; the gold and silver, nay one hundred 
and fifty niiliionK — total circulation, tliree hundnd and aixty-two millions. 

f The hey-day of " Wall street" is thus dcRcribed in a New York paper 
(August, 180:3) : " Stocks have advanced on an average fully three hnndred per 
c(int. For example, tluj Erie formerly sold for five ; it is now one liundred and 
twenty. The Galena and otlier roads of the same kind, which w<;re down to 
thirty and forty, are now up to one lumdred and thirty and one hundred and 
forty. The Ilarlem railroad, that nobody would take at six, has risen to one 
liundred and seventy. Formerly the average rec(>ipts of the Erie railroad were 
five millions ; now they are eleven millions. The receipts of the New York 
Central formerly averaged scvcin millions ; now they average eleven and a half 
millions. Formerly the Hudson River never could pay its dc^bts ; this y<-ar it is 
making thirty p(!r cent. The Fort Wayne road formerly received two and a 
half iriillions annually ; its receipts this year are five millions. The Central 
Illinois increased its receijits last week, by fifty tliousand dollars, and it will 
earn this mouth four hundred thousand dollars." 



182 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAK. 

But tlie agricultural South was inundated with a currency 
for which there was no outlet except in that pernicious and un- 
productive speculation whose sphere of trade is within itself, 
and whose operations can be only those of engrossing and ex- 
tortion. The evils of the expanded currency of the Confede- 
racy, were not only financial ; they were also moral. The su- 
perabundance of paper money was the occasion of a wild 
speculation, which corrupted the patriotism of the country ; in- 
troduced extravagance and licentiousness into private life; be- 
stowed fortune upon the most undeserving ; and above all, bred 
the most grave and dangerous discontents in the army. As 
long as there was a spirit of mutual sacrifice and mutual ac- 
commodation in the war, our soldiers were content and cheer- 
ful. But when they had to compare their condition — the hard- 
ships of the camp ; the pittance of eleven dollars a month, that 
could scarcely buy a pair of socks ; the poverty of the dear 
home left behind them — with the easy and riotous wealth of 
those who had kept out of the army merely to wring money 
out of the necessity and distress of the country ; who, in snug 
shops in Bichmond, made thousands of dollars a day, or, by a 
single stroke of speculation, became rich for life ; it is not to 
be wondered, that bitter conclusions should have been drawn 
from the contrast, and that the soldier should have given his 
bosom to the bullets with less alacrity and zeal, when he re- 
flected that his martyrdom was to protect a large class of men 
grown rich on his necessities, and that too, with the compliance 
and countenance of the Government he defended ! 

At the period of the assembling of Congress, the military 
situation in the Confederacy, which in the early part of 1S63 
had encouraged, not without apparent reasons, hopes of an early 
and honorable peace, had become overshadowed, critical, and, 
to some extent, truly alarming. At the time of the fall of 
Yicksburg, the enemy had also obtained an important and per- 
manent success in Arkansas. The greater portion of the South- 
west he had now overrun. Missouri^ Kentucky and North- 
western Yii-giuia, were exclusively occupied by the forces of 
the enemy. North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama, 
were partially invaded by him. He had passed the barrier 
of the Cumberland mountains, established his dominion in 
East Tennessee, and from his lines in the central West, now 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 183 

hoped to inundate South Carolina, Georgia, and South Al- 
abama, 

111 the face of this critical military situation, came the as- 
tounding disck>sure from the Confederate Secretary of War, 
Mr. James Seddon, that the efiective force of the army was 
" not mure than a half, never two-thirds of the soldiers in the 
ranks/' 

In stating this deplorable fact, the Secretary avoided attrib- 
uting it to its paramount causes — the fault of his own ad- 
ministration ; the remissness of discipline ; the weak shunning 
of the death-penalty in our armies, and that paltry quackery 
which proposed to treat the great evil of desertion with 
" proclamations" and patriotic appeals. He did what was 
worse than this insincerity ; for he proposed to repair that 
evil of absenteeism, which the government itself had occa- 
sioned, by new and violent measures to replenish the army. 
These were an extension of the conscription, which endangered 
the exhaustion of the military reserves of the country ; the ex 
jpost facto annulment of all contracts for substitution, which 
was to the scandal of the moral world, and to the lively dis- 
satisfaction of more than seventy thousand persons, many of 
whom were indispensable in civil employments and by their 
wealth and social position, commanded an influence which the 
government could not afford to despise ;— and, to crown all, 
the supersedure of all exemptions by a system of details in the 
War Department, which would have transferred the question of 
all relief with respect to the burdens of the war, from the 
proper constitutional jurisdiction and collective wisdom of 
Congress, to the exclusive discretion, caprice or malice of a 
single official.* 

* There is u, little piece of official history which may be properly given here. 

On the 8th of January, 18154, Mr. Dargan, of Alabama, referred in the House 
of Representatives to " ads of merciless crudty" on the part of the authorities, 
with reference to exemptions, which it was then proposed, by a certain dema- 
gogical bill in the House, to entrust exclusively and omnijiotently to the Ex- 
ecutive. He illustrated the epithets applied by an instance where a man liad 
been mercilessly put in the military service, who had never walked and never 
been able to walk a quarter of a mile in any one day in his life,, and all the ef- 
forts made by Mr. Dargan with the Secretary of War to procure his release 
had so far been unavailing. 

Yet it appears, from a certain record, that the sajne official who had been so 



184 THE TIIIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Sncli measures were finished pieces of demagoguism. The 
various propositions made to Congress for further military- 
drafts, at the exj^ense of the public faith and the gravest in- 
terests of the citizen and producer, were calculated to find favor, 
of course, in the army, which, as designing politicians knew, 
contained the great body of voters in the country, and was 
destined to hold the balance of political power in the Con- 
federacy. 

The vice of our public men Avas an inordinate passion for an 
ephemeral and worthless popularity. The entire legislation of 
the country, Confederate and State, was demoralized by a pe- 
culiar demagoguism. All the legislative bodies of the coun- 
try were filled with schemes of agrarianism for the benefit 
of the soldier, and assaults on the most important civil rights 



exacting to the cripple, and who solicited from Congress plenary powers on the 
subject of exemptions, had given, over his own name, a special, secret exemp- 
tion to a man who professed to him that he was writing a history of the war ; 
in which it was, of course, expected that Sir. James Seddon would be one of the 
figure-heads in the gallery of cc^lebrities. 

This little piece of nefarious traffic in an official's vanity is of record : else it 
might be doubted whether, even in our Democratic system, a man occupying 
Mr. ISeddon's position could be so easily and shamefully used. 

We copy the extraordinary paper below, omitting the name of its beneficiary, 
because it is not necessary to history, and because we are anxious to spare all 
private feelings which are not materially involved in a public issue : 

Confederate States op America,] 

War Department, 

EiciiMOND, October 20, 1863. 

Mr. , not being a native or naturalized citizen of the Confederacy, AND 

MOREOVER, being engaged in compiling a icurk of interest to our people, and ad- 
vantageous to our cause, is exempt until further orders from conscription. 

James A. Seddon, 

Secretary of War. 

Of this curious paper two remarks are to be made : 

1. If Mr. had relied for exenii)tion upon his alienage (a plea we must 

suppose him unwilling to admit, after his literary exploits for the Confederacy), 
then it was quite unnecessary for the Secretary to assign " moreover" his lite- 
rary adventure as a c^vuse of exemption. 

2. If Mr. had relied for exemption upon his alienage, it was not for 

the Secretary of War, but for the consular authority of the courts, to give hin> 
the benefit of that plea. 

This record may appear to be a small matter for history. It is not : it is one 
evidence, selected because it is indisputable, of the spirit that is fast reducing 
the administration of the Confederate affairs to schools of demagoguism and 
paltry inventions of personal vanity. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 186 

and interests at the instance of the blind passions of the 
army. 

The annulment, by the Confederate Congress, of contracts 
heretofore concluded for military substitutes, was an act of un- 
paralleled infamy. In nuiking the assertion, that the substitu- 
tion was not a contract, but a privilege accorded by the au- 
thorities, the government adoj)ted the argument of the despot : 
to this elfect, that the rights of the people is the jjleasure of the 
sovereign, to be enjoyed with becoming humility. In assum- 
ing to break the contract as to the principal, and, at the same 
time, maintain it in force against the substitute, the govern- 
ment stultified itself, and violated the plainest and justest of 
legal maxims, that a contract broken on one side, is broken on 
all sides. In atteinjiting this violence in the face of the admit- 
ted fact, that nearly half of the army were out of the ranks, 
the government avoided the plain duty of replenishing the 
army with these absentees ; proi)Osed to replace seasoned vete- 
rans by raw malcontents ; and, for a nominal accession to its 
military forces, to sacrifice recorded i)ledges ; to wound the 
confidence and affections of the people ; and to perpetrate a 
great moral evil, for which the compensation in any practical 
benefit was utterly disproportionate. 

If such an act of ])erfidy had been accomplished by the Lin- 
coln govenmient, the Southern newspapers would have ex- 
claimed against it as an unecpudled example of despotism. 
But when it was perpetrated by their own governmen't, South- 
ern journals, with few honorable exceptions, were base enough 
to sustain or disguise it; and one Southern Senator, at least — 
a man of the name of Brown — was ready in his ofiicial seat, 
and in the security of his own exemption from military ser- 
vice, to bully the people with an insufi'erable insolence, and to 
flourish from the shelter of his parliamentary position, the vul- 
gar and detestable threat of "military power." 

But it is not necessary to pursue here the legislation of the 
Confederate Congress on military subjects. We have forborne 
to say here that the condition of our arms was desperate : it 
was critical, but there was no real occasion for despair, or for 
that violent anxiety which approaches it. There was yet much 
room for hope. We have stated that the amount of absentee- 
ism in the army was, at least in great part, the fault of the au- 



186 



TIIIC TIIIKD YEAU OF TIIIC WAR. 



tliorities, and it is therefurc not to be taken as the indication of 
decay in the spirit of our soldiery. That spirit was yet brave 
and resolute. The displacement of Bragg from his conmiand, 
which was at last unwillingly made by the President, had com- 
posed a dangerous discontent in the armies of the West, and 
was the occasion of the re-organization of our forces there, and 
a reassurance of the spirits of the troops. In Virginia, Lee 
still held the enemy at bay, and possessed the unanimous and 
enthusiastic confidence of the country and the army. At 
Charleston, Beauregard had checked the enemy, broken the 
line of his successes on the coast, and was advanced even iu 
liis former reputation as a skilful commander. If the prospect 
was chequered in the AVest, it was without a serious shadow 
in the East; and, although a large portion of the Confederacy 
liad passed into the possession of the enemy, the general 
condition, at least, externally, was not so serious as when, 
in 1862, Richmond was threatened, and there were two hund- 
red and ten thousand Federal soldiers in Virginia alone. 



LINCOLN S " PEACE PKOCLAMATION. 

In the mean time there came a new and powerful appeal to 
the patriotism and resolution of the Confederacy. The Yan- 
kee Congress had assembled simultaneously with that of the 
Cont'ederacy, and, for the first time in the war, the conditions 
upon which })eace would be made with the South were olfici- 
ally ai\nounced. They were contained in the message and 
proclamation of Abraham Lincoln.* They were briefly these: 



* The following are the material portions of this remarkable proclamation : 

Whereas, In and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided 
that the President shall have power to {:;ive reprieves and pardons for offences 
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment, and 

Whereas, a rebelUon now exists whereby the loyal State Governments 
of several States have for a lonj:: time been subverted, and many i)ersons 
have conmiitted, and are now j;uilty, of treason against tlie United States, 
and 

Wliereas, with reference to said rebellion and treason, law^s have boon en- 
acted by Congress declaring forfeitures and confiscations of property and lib- 
eration of shives, all upon terms and conditions therein stated; and also declar- 
ing that the President was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proc- 



Tlllfi THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 187 

the forcible emancipation of the slaves; the perpetuity of con- 
fiscations ; pardon on condition of an oath of allegiance to the 
government, to the Union, and to the Abolition party of the 
North; the excei)tion from this pardon of all important ranks 
in the army, and conditions in political life; and finally, the 
monstrous republican anomaly that one-tenth of the voters in 
any of the Confederate States, declaring for these terms, "should 
be recognized as the true government of the State." In pro- 



lamation, to extend to persons who may liave participated in tlio existing rebel- 
lion in any State, or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions, 
and at sucli times, and on such conditions as bo may deem expedient for the 
public well'aro, and 

Wliereas, the Congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon 
accords witli the well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning power, 
and 

Whereas, with reference to the said rebellion the President of the United 
States has issued several proclamations and provisions in regard to the libera- 
tion of slaves, and 

Whereas, it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said re- 
Ixsllion, to assume their allegiance to the United States, and to reinaugurato 
loyal State Governments within and for their resi)ective States ; 

Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, 
declare, and make known to all persons who have directly or by implication 
particii)ated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that 
a full pardon is hereby granted to them and each of them, with rest(jr- 
ation of all rights of property except as to slaves, and in proj)erty cases 
where the rl(//it.H of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the con- 
dition that ev(^ry such person shaU take and subscribe an oath, and tlicnce- 
forward keep and maintain such oath inviolate, and which oath shall bo reg- 
istered for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect follow- 
ing, to wit : 

" I, , do solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God, that I will 

henceforth faithfully sujjijort, ])rotect, and dt^fend the Constitution of the Uni- 
ted States and the Union of the States thereunder, and that I will in like man- 
ner abide by u.nd faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the ex- 
isting rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modi- 
fied, or held void by Congress or by decision of the Supremo Court, and that 
I will, in like mann(!r, abide and faithfully support all })roclamation3 of the 
President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so ftir 
as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help 
me God." 

The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing provisions are all 
who are or shall have been civil or diplomatic officers or agents of the so-called 
Confederate Government ; all who have left judicial stations under the United 
States to aid in the rebellion ; all who are or shall have been military or naval 
otlicers of said so-called Confederate Government above the rank of Colonel in 



188 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

posing these utterly infamous terms, this Yankee monster of 
inhumanity and falsehood had the audacity to declare, that in 
some of the Confederate States the elements of reconstruction, 
were ready for action ; that those who controlled them differ- 
ed, however, as to the plan of action ; and that, " by the pro- 
clamation, a plan is presented which may be accepted by them 
as a rally 171 g jpoint, and which they are assured in advance will 
not be rejected here." 

This insulting and brutal proposition of the Yankee govern- 
ment was the apt response to those few cowardly factions 
which in I^ortli Carolina, and in some parts of Georgia and 
Alabama, hinted at " reconstruction." It was as the sound of 
a trumpet to every brave man in the South to meet and to 
contest a question of life and death. Appeals had formerly 
been made in the Confederacy against "reconstruction," on 
such arguments as the conduct of the enemy in the war; his 
political prostitution; his vandalism; and sentimental motives 
of vengeance. There were truth and eloquence in those ap- 
peals. But now there was another added to them which 



the army, of Lieutenant in the navy ; all who left seats in the United States 
Congress to aid the rebellion : 

All who resigned commissions in the army or navy of the United States, and 
afterwards aided the rebellion, and all who have engaged in any way in treat- 
ing colored persons or white persons in charge of such, otherwise than lawfully 
as prisoners of war, who have been found in the United States service as sol 
diers, seamen, or in any other capacity. 

And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known, that wheneA'er, in 
any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ala- 
bama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, a number of 
persons, not less than one-tenth in number of the votes cast in such States, 
at the Presidential election of the year of our Lord, 1860, each having taken 
the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it, and \)eing a qualified 
voter by the election law of the State existing immediately before the so- 
called act of secession, and excluding all others, shall re-establish a State 
Government, which shall be republican, and in no wise contravening said 
oath, such shall be recognized as the true Government of the State, and the 
State shall receive thereunder the benefit of the Constitutional provision which 
declares that 

" The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Republi- 
can form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, on 
application of the Legislature, or of the Executive, when the Legislatm'e can- 
not be convened, against domestic violence." 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 189 

addressed ns not onlj in our passions, bnt in every fibre of our 
selfishness, and in every ramification of our interests. It was 
the authoritative exposition to the South of the consequences 
of its submission. These could no longer be misconstrued : 
they were gibbets, proscription, universal poverty, the sub- 
version of our social system, a feudal allegiance to the Aboli- 
tionists and the depths of dishonor. 



THE SLAVERY QUESTION IN THE WAR. 

The proclamation of President Lincoln was made under cer- 
tain aft'ectations of benevolent zeal for the negro. He declared 
that his former " emancipation" proclamation had " much im- 
proved the tone of public sentiment in foreign countries," and 
he insisted that to abandon it would be to the negro " a cruel 
and astounding breach of faith." 

In view of these pretensions, it is not out of place here to 
make a brief summary of the true questions of the war, and its 
real relations to negro slavery in the South. 

A French pamj^hlet on the American war, published at 
Paris, holds the following language: 

"The pride of the North will never stoop to admit the 
superiority of Southern men ; and yet it is from these that the 
Union drew its best statesmen and a majority of its presidents. 
The pride of the North will bend only to necessity, because it 
has not kept pace with the progress of the age. To-day the 
Americans of the North are as completely foreign to the family 
of nations as they were twenty years ago. They understand 
nothing but the narrowest and most mechanical mercantilism, 
the art of purchase and sale ; and they long to annihilate the 
Confederate States in order that the South, by its intelligence, 
its enterprise, and the talent of its statesmen, may not throw 

down the rampart it has built up against Europeanism 

The Federals are so well aware of this that the war which they 
are waging is really and mainly a war of interest. The pro- 
ducing, agricultural South was the commercial vassal of the 
North, which insists upon keeping its best customer : emanci- 
pation is merely a skilful device for entrapping the sympathies 
of European liberalism The Northern idea of the 



190 THE TlllUn YKAR OF THE WAR. 

abolition of slavery by making the negro food for powder, 
or l)y exiling him from liis home to die of hunger, is now 
thoroughly understood in Europe. Our notions of philanthropy 
and our moral sense alike revolt from these ferocious exagger- 
ations of the love of liberty." 

The above is an admirable summary of the questions of the 
war — especially of the '"slavery question.'''' There is no doubt 
that the Anti-Slavery party in the North had, through the 
violence of its measures, and the exposure of its hollow 
pretensions for the negro, lost much of that sympathy in 
Europe which it had formerly obtained ; while the war had 
also given occasion to intelligent persons in all parts of the 
world for a more thorough, a more interested, and a more 
practical study of slavery in the South, The old stories 
which the newspapers of the enemy revived of fiendish 
masters in the South, and pandemoniums on the cotton plan- 
tations, had now come to be objects of scepticism or derision 
in Europe. 

In connection with the subject of the relations of slavery to 
the war, it becomes interesting to inquire what real benefits to 
the negro were accomplished by the political measures of the 
Lincoln government. The famous " emancipation" proclama- 
tion extended "freedom" to the negro merely to subjectt him 
to a worse fate, and to transfer him from the peaceful service 
of the plantation to that of the military camp. It was followed 
by various acts of Congress to enlist the negro in the military 
service. It was stated by Mr. Seward, in a diplomatic circu- 
lar, dated August the 12th, 1863, that nearly seventy thousand 
negroes were at that time employed in the Yankee armies, of 
whom twenty-two thousand were actually bearing arms in the 
field ; and at a later date (that of the meeting of the Yankee 
Congress in December), the whole number of these African 
allies of the North was said to exceed one hundred thousand. 
The employment, as soldiers, against the Confederacy, of this 
immense number of blacks, was a brutality and crime in sight 
of the world ; it was the ignoring of civilization in warfare; it 
was a savage atrocity inflicted on the South ; — but it, cer- 
tainly, was no benefit to the negro. It could be no benefit to 
him that he should be exposed to the fury of the war, and 
translated from a peaceful and domestic sphere of labor 



THE THIRD YICAR OF THE WAR. 191 

to the hardsliips of the camp and tlic mortal perils of tlio 
battle-field. 

The scheme of the colonization of the negro in the invaded 
districts of the South was alike destitute of benefit to him, and 
destructive of the white "civilization" under whose auspicics it 
was conducted. Wherever this new system of labor was intro- 
duced, the negro suffered, the plantation relapsed into weeds, 
the garden disappeared, and desolation and ruin took up their 
abodes. It had converted the rice coasts of South Carolina 
into barrens. It had been instituted on a grand scale in Louisi- 
ana. The result was, to use the language of a Yankee writer, 
this beautiful State was fast becoming "an alligator pleasure- 
ground." AVhere formerly had flourished rich and teeming 
l)lantations, were to be seen here and there some show of 
cultivation, some acres of corn and cane; but these were 
"government" jdantations ; the able-bodied negroes had been 
forced into the Yankee military service, and a few aged and 
shiftless negroes, who poked lazily through the weed-growth, 
were the only signs of labor in the vast districts occupied by 
the enemy. In Louisiana, where the Yardcees had indulged 
Buch hopes of " infusing new life" by free labor and the scien- 
tific farming of Massachusetts, the development of the country, 
its return in crops, in wealth, amounted to little more than 
nothing. The negro had merely exchanged his Southern 
master for a Massachusetts shoe-maker, who was anxious to 
become a Louisiana sugar-maker. His condition was not im- 
proved, his comforts were decreased ; and the country itself, 
redeemed by the most tedious labors from the waters of the 
Mississippi, and brought to a point of fertility unexampled in 
Anu'riean soils, was fast reverting to the original swamp. 
Louisiana had taken more than fifty years to raise the banks 
of the Mississippi, to drain and redeem the swamp lands, and 
to make herself a great producing State. But, said the New 
York World, "it has required only a few months for the 
Administration at Washington to prepare the State for its 
return to its original worthlessness ; to 'restore' it to barbar- 
ism ; to re-people it, in spots, with half bred bastards; to drive 
out every vestige of civilization, and to make the paradise of 
the South a rank, rotten, miasmatic, alligator and moccasin 
swamp-ground again." 



192 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE WAR. 

The fact is indisputable, that in all the localities of the Con- 
federacy where the enemy had obtained a foothold, the negroes 
had been reduced by mortality during the war to not more 
than one-half their previous number. 

To this statement, the deliberate assertion of President 
Davis to the Confederate Congress, we may make an official 
addition of the most melancholy interest. In the winter of 
1863-64, the Governor of Louisiana, in his official message, 
published to the world the appalling fact, that more negroes 
had ^perished in Louisiana from the cruelty and hrutality of 
the jouhlic enemy than the combined number of white men, in 
both armies, from the casualties of war. In illustration he 
stated, that when the Confederate forces surprised and cap- 
tured Berwick's Bay, last summer, they found about two 
thousand negroes there in a state of the most utter destitution 
— many of them so emaciated and sick that they died before 
the tender humanity of the Confederates could be applied to 
their rescue from death. 

The fate of these poor wretches was to be attributed to sheer 
inhumanity. The Yankees had abundant supplies of food, 
medicines and clothing at hand, but they did not apply them 
to the comfort of the negro, who, once entitled to the farce of 
"freedom," was of no more consequence to them than any 
other beast with a certain amount of useful labor in his 
anatom3\ 

The practice of the enemy in the parts of the Confederacy 
he had invaded, was to separate the families of the blacks 
without notice. Governor Moore officially testified to this 
practice in Louisiana. The men were driven off like so many 
cattle to a Yankee camp, and were enlisted in the Yankee 
army. The women and children were likewise driven off in 
droves, and ■ put upon what are called " Government planta- 
tions" — that is, plantations from which the lawful owners had 
been forced to fly, and which the Yankees in Louisiana were 
cultivating. 

The condition of the negroes at the various contraband 
camps in the Mississippi valley furnishes a terrible volume of 
human misery, which may some day be written in the fright- 
ful characters of truth. Congregated at these depots, without 
employment, deprived of the food to which they had been ac- 



THE TIIIKD YEAR OF THE WAK. 193 

custoined, and often witliont shelter or medical care, these 
helpless creatures perished, swept off by pestilence or the cruel- 
ties of the Yankees. 

We may take from Northern sources some accounts of these 
contraband camps, to give the reader a passing picture of what 
the unhappy negroes had gained by what the Yankees called 
their " freedom." 

A letter to a Massachusetts paper said : — •" There are, be- 
tween Memphis and Natchez, not less than fifty thousand 
blacks, from among whom have been culled all the able-bodied 
men for the military service. Thirty-five thousand of these, 
viz., those in camps between Helena and l^atchez, are furnished 
the shelter of old tents and subsistence of cheap rations by the 
Government, but are in all other things in extreme destitution. 
Their clothing, in perhaps the case of a fourth of this number, 
is but one single worn and scanty garment. Many children 
are wrapped night and day in tattered blankets as their sole 
apparel. But few of all these jDcople have had any change of 
raiment since, in midsummer or earlier, they came from the 
abandoned plantations of their masters. Multitudes of them 
have no beds or bedding — the clayey earth the resting place 
of women and babes through these stormy winter months. 
They live of necessity in extreme filthiness, and are afflicted 
with all fatal diseases. Medical attendance and su})plies are 
very inadequate. They cannot, during the winter, be disposed 
to labor and self-support, and compensated labor cannot be 
procured for them in the camps. They cannot, in their present 
condition, survive the winter. It is my conviction that, unre- 
lieved, the half of them will perish before the spring. Last 
winter, during the months of February, March and April, I 
buried, at Memphis alone, out of an average of about four thou- 
sand, twelve hundred of these people, or twelve a day." 

Another Yankee correspondent wrote as follows respecting 
the negroes who had come into Vicksburg after the surrender 
of General Pemberton : — 

" About the 1st of August the military authorities became 
alarmed lest a pestilence should break out among them and 
extend to the army. Peremptory orders were issued to at once 
remove across the river all negroes, of every age and sex, 
whether sick or well, who were not in some employment. 

13 



194 THE TIIIKD YEAR OF TIIK WAK. 

" One inorniiipj I went out to inform a certain Lieutenant 

W , wlio, with an inadequate force, was executing tlio 

order, that one of them in the Baptist church was dead, and 
that another, a woman, was lying behind a fence, dying. He 
tokl me tliat lie had detailed, for the purpose of removing the 
negroes, 20 army wagons ; that he had hauled them, well, sick 
and dead, with all their traps, to the river, where he had a 
steamer to convey them across to a point o]>posite the lower 
part of the city ; that he had one wagon to haul the dead, and 
that soine days he found as many as twenty ; that in one house 
he found six dead bodies, with living ones sitting and lying 
around them, apparently unconscious of their situation. Holes 
were dug on the river's bank and the dead buried. The search- 
ing out and removal of these negroes consumed about fifteen 
or twenty daya. About three hundred were thus removed to 
the low grounds opposite Vicksburg, and there left in the 
weeds without a;ny shelter, under the care of a man who was 
appointed to organize them into a camp, and separate small- 
pox cases from the rest. 

" The chaplain told me that these negroes had suffered and 
were still suffering untold want and wretchedness; that nearly 
four hundred had died since he had taken charge of them ; 
that from sixteen to twenty died daily. Sometimes they would 
crawl off into the w^oods and die, where their bodies would be 
found only by the stench which arose from their decay. That 
there was no white man with them but a nephew of his ; that 
rations were furnished them by the Government, but sometimes 
he had difficulty in getting them over the river ; that once 
they were five days without receiving any food, and the negroes 
in their despair threatened to kill him, thinking the fault was 
his. lie also stated that they had no tents or shelter except 
brush to shield them from the sun, or storm, or dews of night. 

Captain A stated to me that there were in his camp two 

thousand ; at Young's Point, eight thousand five hundred and 
fifty-one ; on Papaw Island, where he purposed gathering most 
of them, two thousand eight hundred ; and on Black's planta- 
tion, on the Yazoo, two thousand four hundred — in all over 
sixteen thousand. One morning I went among the wretched 
masses where they were hauled to the bank of the river, pre- 
paratory to being sent across. I tried in vain to find some 



TIIF. rmUT) YKAII OF TIIK WAU. 1 D.') 

women who wore ahlc to work, ii8 wc wisliod tliolr IhIk*!- :it 
our liouso. All woro iMtlior Hick or tukinp; cjirc of the nictk. [ 
8:iw ii(»lliiii<^ but Olio Hjid nceiio of misery." 

'riu! \v:ir had tested Blavery in the Sontli witli resnltH thiit 
eould iu>t eseupe tlic intelligent attention of the world. While 
it had exhihited the horrors of "emancipation" on the ono 
side, it had shown, <tn the other, the docility and fidelity of tho 
shivo in his proper condition of Bervitnde. It is true that the 
negroes, in eases of invasion, had fh)eked to tlio standards of 
tlu! Yankee ; hut such a course was to be asctribed ])urely to 
their ignorance and tractal)ility, sedinted as thv.y were by tho 
Word "- liberty," by bribes and by frauds. It was no evidenco 
of any real discontent, still less of hostility to the masters they 
deserted. The majority of negroes lost by us were those allured 
in the Yankees by promises of freedom, no work, and bountiful 
supplies of good things. Deceived in their aiiMctipatiuii of 
o/ii/m, cum </i(/in'/<i/<; and finding the spade and tin; musket in 
health, and cold neglect in sickness, in Vw.w of it their wives 
and children, their old and infirm, subje(;ted to privations and 
suflerings never experienced from their masters -as many as 
could returned home. 

Jn all the war there had boon no servile insurrection in the 
South — not a single instance of outbrcink among the slavcis — a 
conclusive evidence that the negro was not the enemy of his 
master, but, in his des(!rtion of liim, mercily the victim of 
Yankee bribes. Assured, through a thousand channels, as 
these luigroes were, that they were the victims of the most 
grinding and cruel injustice and oppression ; assured of tho 
active assistance of the largest armies of mod(!rn times, and of 
the countenance and sympathy of the rest of tho world ; assured 
that such an enterprise would not only be generous and luiroic, 
but eminently successful, our enemit^s had heretofore failed to 
excite one solitary instance of insurrection, mu(di less to bring 
on a servile war. 

It was thus that the war its(;lf had greatly cleariHl up our 
moral atmosphci'c^, and swept away much mist and darkness 
of doubt and delusion. Atler nearly three years of bloody 
struggle, we had at least already attained this result: tho 
assurance that it was we, the C(»iifederat(!H, who had in chariro 
tJie cause of freedom in the Weslern continent aj^ainst the wild 



196 TIIK TIIIKD YEAH OF TIIK WAR. 

aiKircliy of igiionuit mobs — \vc, who were saving civilization 
from the freiiz^^ of doinocraey I'uii mad — we, above all, who 
were guarding the helpless black race fi'om utter annihilation 
at the hands of a greedy and bloody " j)hilanthropy," which 
60\ight to de})rive them of the care of humane masters only 
that they nn'ght be abolished from the face of the earth, and leave 
the fields of labor clear for that free comj)etition and demand- 
and-supj»ly, which reduced even white woi'kers to the lowest 
minimum of a miserable livelihood, and left the simple lu-gro 
to compete, as he best could, witli swarming and hungry mil- 
lions of a more enei'getic race, who were already eating one 
another's heads off, and who regarded him and his claims as an 
intrusion and superfluity upon earth — to be retrenched and got 
rid of in the most summar}^ manner. 

The affectation of the Yankee for the good of the negro was 
intended, as we have seen, to solicit the sympathies of P]nropG 
in the war. It was not very effectual in this respect. But, at 
least, it could no longer hope to impose upon the South, and 
it did not hesitate to unmask to it its brutal and ferocious in- 
sincerity. In the mean time, the " war-to-the-knife" l)arty in 
the North, with the large accession of so many blacks to its 
armies, and a recent confirmation at the polls of its party 
strength, was preparing for new careers of atrocity and crime.* 

* In referring to tlie condition of the negro in this war, "\ve use the term 
"slavery" in those pages under strong protest. For there is no such thing in 
tlve South ; it is a term lastened upon us by the exaggeration and conceit of 
Northern literature, and most ini])roperly acquiesced in by Southern writers.. 
ThtTO is a system of African mvvititde in tlu^ South ; in which tlie negro, so far 
from bi'ing under the absolute dominion of his master (which is tlie true moan- 
ing of the v»;lo word " shivery"), has, by huo of the land, his personal rights 
riTognized and ])rotected, and his comfort and " right" of " happiness" con- 
sulted, and by W\i^ pvactici' of the system, has a sum of individual indulgences, 
which makes him altogether the most striking type in the world of cheerful- 
ness and contentment. And the system of servitude in the South has this pe- 
culiarity over other systems of servitudt^ in the world : that it does not debase 
one of Cjod's creatures from the condition of free-citizenship and membership 
in organized society and thu» rest on acts of debasement and disi-nfranchise- 
ment, but elevates a savage, and rests on the solid basis of human improve- 
ment. The Eurojjeau mind, adopting the nomenclature of our enemies, has 
di'signated as " slavery" what is really the most virtuous system of servitude 
in the world. 



THE TIIIKD YKAR OF THE WAR. 197 



HISTOUY OF THE " UKTALTATIon" POLTOY, 

Wliilc thus the war waxed in the hands of the North, tlic 
Administration at Kichniond liad notliing to res{)ond to its 
fercK^itj but a feeble sentinientaHsiu and a weak protest for tlio 
rights of liunianity, whieh amused the enemy and distrusted 
the stern sjfirit of a i)e()j)le fighting for their lil)erties. " Retal- 
iation'' had by this time be(!ome a h)st woi"d in our vocabula- 
ry. In the year now well nigh })ast, the Yankees had enacted 
barbarities greater tlian those of former years, in ])roportion as 
they were enconraged by impunity. They h;ul burned tho 
town of Darien, and this, one of the oldest towns in (Tcorgia, 
the New Inverness of Oglethorpe's time, was now a plain of 
ashes and blackened chimneys. They had, in a raid on the 
Cond)ahee, committed to the flames the beautiful town of 
Bluifton. They had attempted to destroy Charleston by an 
incendiary com})osition. They had made a desert of the whole 
country between the Big Black and the Mississippi, and in 
every district of the South wdiich they had penetrated, houses 
had been cither pillaged or burnt, crops laid waste, and enor- 
mities committed which exhausted the calendar of crimes. 

Yet we have seen that when General Lee invaded the terri- 
tory of the North he had omitted even the devastation of the 
enemy's country, liad paid the Yankees' own i)rices for their 
su])plies, and had, in fact, given a protection to their property 
^\hich had never been afforded that of our citizens, either 
from tlie rapacity of tlie soldier or that of the imj^ressment 
^gent. 

It is true that of this singular behavior Pi-esident Davis said 
in his message to Congress: "Thougli the forbearance may 
have been unmerited and uiuippreciated by the enemy, it was 
imposed by their [our soldiers'] own seif-respect, which for- 
bade their degenerating from Christian warriors into plunder- 
ing rutHans." But herein the President sought to imi)ose 
upon the public mind not only a wretc^lied piece of sentimen- 
tal ism, but a glaring ffillacy, alike unworthy of his intellect. 
The punishment of the Y^ankees for what they had done in tho 
South certainly did not mean an imitation of the wrouir — a 
retaliation in khuL The Southern peo})le had almost unani- 



198 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

mouslj applauded General Lee's orders in Pennsylvania re- 
straining pillage and private outrage. But there were penalties 
other than those of marauding which might have been meas- 
ured out to the enemy, and have inflicted upon him some 
injury commensurate with what we had suffered at his hands. 
It would not have been unjust, it would not have been immoral, 
it would not have detracted from our "self-respect," it would 
not have endangered the discipline of our troops, it would not 
have been an act unbecoming " Christian warriors," to have 
laid waste the enemy's country^ if done under the justification 
of retaliation, with the deliberation of official orders, and by 
the army acting in line of battle. But no such orders were 
given ; no such line of battle carried with it the chastisements 
of real war ; and the fertile acres of the Pennsylvania Yalley 
were untouched by the " Christian warriors." 

The subject of "retaliation" brings to the mind a number of 
specific acts in which the Confederate government had failed, 
alike, in the execution of justice and in the protection of its 
own people. The record of these affords an exhibition of 
weakness that is, positively, without parallel in the history of 
governments. In contrasting the rival administrations of the 
North and South, it is indispensable here to make a brief re- 
view of the incidents to which we have referred in the history 
of the " retaliation" policy. They are rapidly grouped in the 
summary which follows: 

1. Shortly after the capture of JiTew Orleans, General Butler 
executed a citizen of the Confederacy, William B. Mumford, 
for the extraordinary crime of " disrespect" to the Yankee flag. 

Instead of making prompt retaliation, the Confederate gov- 
ernment found a conveniently circuitous course in addressing, 
several months after the event, the singularly gratuitous inquiry 
to the Lincoln government, whether the act of Butler was 
" approved" by it ? 

The authorities at "VYashino-ton returned this answer : 



Hbadquaeters of the Army, 

Washington, Aug. 9, 1862. 



Gen'l R. E. Lee, Comd'g, »fec. 

General : — Your two communications of the 2d inst., with 
inclosures, are received. As these papers are couched in lan- 
guage exceedingly insulting to the Government of the United 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 199 

States, I must respectfully decline to receive them. They are 
returned herewitli. 

Very respectfully, 

Your ob't serv't, 

n. W. Halleck, Gen'1-in-Ohief U. S. Army. 

And here ended the whole matter. 

2. At Palmyra, in Missouri, General McNeil murdered, in 
cold blood, ten soldiers of the Confederacy. 

Although the Confederate government must have had prompt 
official intelligence of tliis outrage, it was only several months 
thereafter, when " the Palmyra massacre" had been inconve- 
niently noised in the newspapers, that President Davis ordered 
by telegraph the execution in retaliation, of ten Yankee pris- 
oners, in the Department of the Trans-Mississippi. 

The bloody telegram, communicated by the Richmond au- 
thorities to the press with peculiar liberality of information, 
quieted it and consoled the public. But that was all ; the 
telegraphic order was never executed ; it was a dead letter, 
that died in the public mind ; and the Palmyra massacre was 
not only unavenged, but justice itself was cheated by a false 
and most unworthy ahow of compliance with its demands. 

3. Under the "Death Order" of Burnside, two Confederate 
officers. Captains Corbin and McGraw, had been executed for 
recruiting white soldiers in Kentucky, a part of our own terri- 
tory embraced in our political system and represented in our 
Congress ; at a time when the Yankees Avere recruiting negro 
soldiers in our political jurisdiction, and in the circle of our 
homes. 

By the order of the Confederate government, two Yankee 
prisoners were selected by a formal lot at Richmond, upon 
whom retaliation was to be visited. The day of their execu- 
tion Wcxs, fixed. But instead of hanging them, President Davis 
arranged a back-door of mercy by commissioning a personage 
no less considerable than Mr. Stephens, Vice-president of the 
Republic, to make arrangements in Washington " to temper 
the present cruel character of the contest." The " back-door 
of mercy" was closed in his face. Mr. Stephens went as far as 
Hampton Roads, where he was stopped by the enemy's admi- 
ral, with the curt information from Washington, that the 



200 THE TIIIKD YKAR OF THE WAR. 

encmv wished no furtliev coinmunication with the Confederacy 
thuii it ah-eudv had through the ordinary military chainiels. 

In the mean time, the Yankee government, without troub- 
ling itself with a selecti<m by lot, had summarily designated 
two of the most important prisoners in its hands as victims to 
repay with their lives the tragedy that had been appointed at 
Richmond. The consequences were, that the tragedy did not 
come oft", but the Confederate government replied with some 
brave words, that it was not dismayed by the threat, but 
would, at its convenience, execute the penalties it had pro- 
nounced. The day of execution passed; there was no })ublic 
notice of respite or pardon ; there was 'no other day of execu- 
tion appointed ; and the convenient silence of the authorities 
was evidence enough that the matter was dropped, and that 
they desired it to pass out of the public mind. Thus termin- 
ated this issue of "■ retaliation." 

4. A notorious renegade, Rncker, was taken in the ranks of 
the enemy in Western Yii'giiiia, and committed as a spy and 
murderer. The Yankees tlireatened the life of one of our 
prisoners of war, if he should be executed. 

The criminal was kept fifteen months witliout a trial, and at 
last conveniently escajied. There was no possible occasion for 
the extraordinary delay of a trial, unless that the Confederate 
authorities feared to risk its conclusion, for the evidence was 
ready, abundant, and immediately at hand to convict him. 

5. The Yankees imprisoned women for waving handker- 
chiefs at our prisoners. For offences not much more consid- 
erable, they put them in political jails, and subjected them to 
the vilest indignities, and to penalties which made no distinc- 
tion of sex. 

In' the summer of 1SG3, a Mrs. Patterson Allen, a Yankee 
woman, was detected in Richmond holding the most brutal 
and treas(»nable couimunication witli the enemy ; pointing out 
to him objects for his resentment; and proposing to betray 
into his hands as. prisoner a minister of Christ, under whose 
roof, at the time the letter was written, the Yankee spy and 
traitress was herself a guest, and a sick child of the minister 
w^as dying in the absence of its father. 

By special direction of the Confederate Secretarj'- of War, 
Mr. Seddou, Mrs. Patterson Allen, a fashionable woman, was 



THE THIRD YEAR OF TnK WAR. 201 

eent, not to prison, but to the Asylum, Francis do Sales, in 
liicliniond. Her trial had not yet taken place; and for nearly 
six months the vul<:;arity of a lei^al prison was spared her, and 
a ronnintic conlinement in a ciiaritable institution was the 
chivalric invention of the Confederacy for the crime of trea- 
son ! 

6. It had been estimated by the Confederate Commissioner 
of Exchange, in the fall of 1863, that the enemy held in im- 
pris(tnment not less than one thousand citizens of the Confed- 
eracy, who had been captured in peaceful employments, and 
were in no way amenable as combatants in the war. 

In a correspondence on the subject of exchange of prisoners, 
the Confederate government protested against the outrageous 
practice of the enemy in arresting non-combatants and kid- 
napping })rivate citizens within his military lines or elsewherG 
within his reach. But the enemy continued these arrests, and 
no retaliation was ever attempted. At the time unarmed citi- 
zens of the Confederacy were torn fnjm their homes in Missis- 
sippi and sent to the jails of Memphis, (Jeneral Lee protected 
the citizens of Pennsylvania, and aUowed them even to avow 
their political animosity in his camps. 

7. When Ceneral Morgan was captured by the enemy, ho 
was carried to Cincinnati, and thence he and twenty-eigiit of 
liis officers were taken to Columbus, Ohio, where they were 
shaved, their hair cut close by a negro convict, and then locked 
■up in cells. Seven days afterwards, forty-two more of General 
Morgan's officers were conveyed from Johnston's Island to the 
jjcnitentiary, and subjected to the same indignities. 

A correspondence' ensued between the Commissioners of 
Exchange on the subject of these cruelties and indignities, in 
which the excuse was made by the enemy that the Federal 
authority was not responsible for them, implying that the 
State of Ohio having these captives in her custody, had chosen 
to associate them with convicts. 

Yet, at this time, our government was, in deference to " gen- 
eral orders" at Washington, treating as prisoners of war 
negroes captured in arms, who were clearly responsible to the 
authority of the States^ under State laws, as criminals. No 
surrender of these criminals was made to any of tiio States of 
the Confederacy, and when South Carolina made some motion 



-J 



202 TUK rillKl) YEAK OF TIIK WAK. 

in the matter, it was strangely huslied up, and the negro mal- 
efactors retained to this day by the Confederate authority in 
full enjoyment of the privileges accorded theni by Yankee 
edict, as " prisoners of war." 

8, The enemy had violated the cartel. Under this cartel, 
fur many months, we had restored to the enemy many thou- 
sands of })risoners in excess of those whom he held for ex- 
change. But in July, when the fortune of war favored the 
Yankees, and they held the excess of prisoners, they had bro- 
,ken the cartel ; they had refused to return to our lines the 
prisoners taken at Gettysburg; and they had gone further 
even than this treachery, for they had not only retained the 
prisoners captured by them, but they had declared null the 
paroles given by the prisoners captured by us in the same 
series of engagements. 

AVhat were the returns of the Confederate government for 
this outrage 'i It allowed the prisoners in our hands comforts 
not enjoyed by the men who captured them in battle. It per- 
mitted the Yankee ca])tives in liichmond to receive stores 
from the North to the amount of half a million of dollars. It 
indulged them in a festival; and whil(^ our prisoners M'cre 
sighing in the dungeons and penitentiaries of the North, or at 
Johnston's Island, were (to use President Davis's own state- 
ment), dying from the slow tortures of cold, "exposed to the 
piercing cold of the Northern lakes, by men who cannot bo 
ignorant of, even if they do not design, the probable result," a 
tabic (r/iote was spread in the Libby Trison at Iliehmond, with 
all the luxuries that the teeming markets of the Northern 
cities could afford. And this licentiousness, with its awful 
and terrible contrast to our own people, went by the name of 
Christian chai-ity in Eichmond, and was a pleasant humanity 
to be told to Euro})e ! 

9. The Confederacy treated prisoners of war according to 
the rules of war; consulted their comfort as well as their secu- 
rity ; enacted a law allowing them the same rations as Con- 
federate st)ldiers in the Held ; and, in tine, considering the 
scarcity of supplies in the South, made a provision for pris- 
oners of war of extreme generosity. 

Jt is true that statements were made by the North much to 
the contrary ; that Yankee newspapers circulated ghastly 



TIIIC TIIIKD YEAK OF TIIP] WAR. 203 

romaneos of tlicir starving prisoners ; and that pictorial illus- 
trations of the horrors of Libby Prison and J3elle Isle were 
manufactured into a public document by a Yankee Congress 
for circulation throughout Christendom. However, these sto- 
ries were but little entitled to the credit or sympathy of tlio 
world ; so often iuid it been imposed upon by Yankee fictions, 
and so little reason had it to su])[)ose that a people false in one 
l)articular were even tolerably truthful in another. 

It was not to be supposed, indeed, that in a war in which 
the favorite object of the Yankee was to plunder and starve 
tlie Confederacy, and in which the first men of the Confed- 
eracy were forced to live scantily on bread and beef, and to 
deny themselves such luxuries as tea, cotlec, sugar, and vege- 
tables, Yankee prisoners of war could have many of the com- 
forts which they had been accustomed to obtain from their 
own bountiful commissariat. But it is seriously true that 
they fared as well as our own worn and hardened soldiers in 
the field. They were allowed, in many instances, to receive 
supplies from fi'iends in the North, and it frequently hapi)encd 
that the occupants of the Libby actually lived better than the 
cabinet ministers of the Confederacy. 

What was the Yankee treatment of prisoners of war in 
comparison with these humanities of the Confederacy? Their 
system of imprisonment was essentially a jpcnal one. They 
assumed the right io punitih j^risoners of war; to enact the 
part of nuKjiatrate over soldiers and citizens of the Confederacy; 
to sentence them to terms of years, to add ball and chain, to 
subject them to penalties of the felon, and to emi^loy upon 
them the tortures of the common penitentiary. Even women, 
accused of sympathy with the South, were required to employ 
their time in prison with "sewing for Union soldiers." The 
right to ^nwi/.s7< prisoners of war was assumed quite as much 
as that to secure their persons. 

We have already referred to the outrageous incarceration of 
General Morgan and his command. We may refer here to the 
experience at length of one of these unfortunate captives, 
which was personally narrated to the writer of these pages. 

This statement was taken from the lips of Captain Calvin C. 
Morgan, a brother of the famous General Morgan. 

Captain Morgan was among those of his brother's expedi- 



20 Ir TIIK TtlIRD TEAR OF THE WAK. 

tion who, in last July, were incarcerated in the penitentiary of 
Ohio. On entei'ing this infamous abode, Captain Morgan and 
his companions were stripped in a reception room and their 
naked bodies examined there. Tliey were again stripped in 
the interior of the prison, and washed in tubs by negro con- 
victs; their hair cut close to the scalp, the brutal warden, who 
was standing by, exhorting the negro barber to "cut off every 
lock of their rebel hair." After these ceremonies, the officers 
■were locked up in cells, the dimensions of which were thirty- 
eight inches in width, six and a half feet in length, and about 
the same in height. In these narrow abodes our brave soldiers 
were left to pine, branded as felons, goaded by "convict- 
drivers," and insulted by speeches which constantly reminded 
them of the weak and cruel neglect of that government, on 
whose behalf, after imperilling their lives, they were now 
suffering a fate worse than death. But even these sufferings 
were nothing to what was reserved for them in another 
invention of cruelty without a parallel, unless in the secrets of 
the infernal. 

It appears that, after General Morgan's escape, suspicion 
alighted on the warden, a certain Captain Merion, m'Iio, it was 
thought, might have been corrupted. To alleviate the susjiicion 
(for which there were really no grounds whatever), the brute 
commenced a system of devilish persecution of the unfortunate 
Confederate prisoners who remained in his hands. One part 
of this system was solitary conlinement in dungeons. These 
dungeons were close cells, a false door being drawn over the 
erratino;, so as to exclude lio^ht and air. The food allowed the 
occupants of these dark and noisome places, was three ounces 
of bread and half a pint of water per day. The four walls 
were bare of every thing but a water-bucket, for the necessities 
of nature, which was left for days to poison the air the jjrisoner 
breathed. He was denied a blanket ; deprived of his overcoat, 
if he had one, and left standing or stretched with four dark, 
cold walls around him, with not room enough to walk in to 
keep up the circulation of his blood, stagnated with the cold, 
and the silent and unutterable horrors of his abode. 

Confinement in these dungeons was the warden's sentence 
for the most trivial offences. On one occasion one of our 
prisoners w^as thus immured because he refused to tell Merion 



THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAR. 205 

wliicli one of liis comprtiiions had whistled contrary to the 
prison rules. But the most terrible visitation of tliis demon's 
displeasure remains to be told. 

Some knives had been discovered in the prisoners' cells, and 
Merion accused the occupants of meditating their escape. 
Seven of them, all officers, were taken to the west end of the 
building and ])ut in the dark cells there. They were not 
allowed a bhinket or overcoat, and tlie thermometer was helow 
zero. There was no room to pace. Each prisoner had to 
struggle for life, as the cold bemunbed him, by stamping his 
feet, beating the walls, now catching a few minutes of horrible 
sleep on the C(dd floor, and then starting np to continue, in the 
dark, liis wrestle for life. 

" I had been suffering from heart disease," says Captain 
Morgan, speaking of his own solitary confinement on another 
occasion. "It was terribly aggravated by the cold and horror 
of the dungeon in which I was placed. I had a wet towel, one 
end of vvhicii I pressed to my side; the other would freeze, and 
I had to put its frozen folds on my naked skin. I stood this 
way all night, pressing the frozen towel to my side and keeping 
my feet going np and down. I felt I was struggling for my 
life." 

Captain Morgan endured this confinement for eighteen 
hours, and was taken out barely alive. The other prisoners 
endured it for sixteen days and nights. In this time they wei'e 
visited at different periods by the physician of the penitentiary 
— Dr. Loring — who felt their pulses, and examined their con- 
dition, to ascertain how long life might hold out under the 
exactTng ttjrture. It was awful, this ceremony of torture, this 
medical examination of the victims. The tramp of the prison- 
ers' feet, up and down (there was no room to walk), as they 
thus worked for life, was incessantly going on. This black 
tread-mill of the dungeon could be heard all through the cold 
and dreary hours of tiie night. Dr. Loring, who was compara- 
tively a humane pei'son, besought Merion to release the un- 
hap})y men ; said they had already been taxed to tlie point of 
death. The wretch replied, "They did not talk right yet." 
lie wished them to humble themselves to him. He went into 
the cell of one of them. Major Webber, to taunt him^ " Sir," 
said the ofHcer, " I defy you. You can kill me, but you can 



206 THE THIRD YEAR OF THK WAR. 

add nothing to the sufferings you have ah-eady inflicted. Pro- 
ceed to kill me ; it makes not the slightest difference." 

At the expiration of sixteen da3's the men \vere released from 
the dungeons. Merion said "he would take them out this time 
alive, but next time they offended, they would be taken out 
feet foremost." Their appearance M'as frightful ; they could 
no longer be recognized b}^ their companions. With their 
bodies swollen and discolored, with their minds bordering on 
childishness, tottering, some of them talking foolishly, these 
M'retched men seemed to agree but in one thing — a ravenous 
desire for food. 

" I had known Captain Coles,'' says Captain Morgan, " as 
well as my brother. AVhen he came out of his dungeon, I 
swear to you I did not know him. His face had swollen to two 
or three times its ordinary size, and he tottered so that I had 
to catch him from falling. Captain Barton was in an awful 
state. His face was swollen and the blood was bursting from 
the skin. All of them had to be watched, so as to check them 
in eatinff, as thev had been starved so lonff." 

We had had in this war many examples of Yankee cruelty. 
But the statement given above, may be said to take precedence 
of all that had ever yet been narrated of the atrocities of the 
enemy ; and it is so remarkable, both on account of its matter 
and the credit that must naturally attach to its authorship, 
that we doubt whether the so-called civilized world of this 
generation has produced anywhere any well-authenticated 
stoi'y of equal horror. 

In his message to Congress, President Davis elo- 
quently adverted to the savage ferocity of the enemy and his 
crimes. But he had not a word to say of what had become of 
all his proclamations, pronunciamentos, gloomy appeals and 
terrible threatenings with respect to retaliation. The truth 
was they had never resulted in one solitary performance ; they 
were a record of bluster and an exhibition of weakness and 
shame upon which the President might well turn his back. 
It is remarkable that Mr. Davis in all these proceedings touch- 
ing questions of retaliation should have shown a character so 
different from that which he exhibited in the domestic contro- 
versies and intrigues of his administration. In his contro- 
versies with his military officers, he was very obstinate, very 



THK TlllUn YKAK OF THE WAR. 207 

bitter; in liis attaclnnent to oertain fiivoritcs and to certain 
measures of domestic policy lie was immovable and defiant. 
It was only when his duty brought him in contact with the 
enemy that these imperious traits of character disappeared, and 
were replaced by halting timidity and weak hesitation. 

It was unfortimate that the Confederate President ever made 
an}' threats of retaliation, since he had not the resolution to 
perform them. They had been ineftectually repeated until 
they had become the sneer of the enemy. But the most un- 
fortunate consequence of the want of a proper response to the 
cruel assumptions of power by the North was the moral effect 
it had upon our own ]>eople ; for it implied a certain guilt, a 
certain moral inferiority in the South, of which the enemy had 
the right to take advantage. It converted the relations be- 
tween us and our foes to those of the malefactor and the con- 
stable ; it depressed our sense of right; and it gave to the sol- 
dier the bitter reflection that his government cared but little 
for him, in that martyrdom on the gallows or cajitivity in dun- 
geons with the terrors of which the eneni}' assailed him. 

Finally, there is this to be said of the rival admim'strations 
of llichmond and Washington : that if in the former there 
were to be found many evidences of weakness, these, at least, 
were not crimes, while if in the latter there were to be seen 
vigor and decision, they were associated with the insolence of 
the reprobate and the inhumanity of the savage. If the his- 
tory of the retaliation policy and other questions which wc 
have traced, exhibits imbecility on the part of the Confederate 
authorities, it has this compensation: that it has inseparably 
connected with it a fearful record of the inhumanity and crime 
of the enemy. 

In this conflict, Avhich, as to goverments, was that between 
the weakly good and the resolutely evil, the people of the Con- 
federacy had but little to expect from their political authori- 
ties ; but it was precisely the condition in which they had 
much to expect from the resources of their own righteous and 
aroused passions. 

In connection with his "peace" proclamation, the Yankee 
President pointed with an air of triumph to the great resources 
of the North for the prosecution of the war. There was an 
actual surplus in its treasury. While the Confederacy had 



20S THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

t 

collected only one hundred millions from its tax and revenue 
system, the receipts of the Yankee treasury were nine hundred 
millions. The Yankee army was increased. The Yankee 
navy now numbered nearly six hundred vessels, and seventy- 
five of them were iron-clads or armored steamers. The Yan- 
kee political parties had accommodated their diiferences and 
no lorf^er embarrassed the authorities at Washington. "The 
crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is 
past," said Mr. Lincoln. 

The Washington government had now a united people, an 
unexhausted treasury, enlarged military resources, and a con- 
fidence more insolent than ever. 

Richmond, in December, 1863, was a sombre city. An air 
of gloom pervaded the public offices. In Congress, Mr. Foote 
told his endless story of official corruption and imbecility, and 
had his savage jokes on "the pepper-doctor from North Caro- 
lina," who governed the commissariat of the Confederacy. 
There w^ere no social gaieties, although disreputable balls and 
gambling "hells" still amused those immoral mobs, at all 
times inseparable from a metropolis. In the streets there was 
the perpetual juggle of bargain and sale, apparently uncon- 
scious of the war, simply because engrossed in individual ava- 
rice ; the clatter of the auction sales ; the levity of the tho- 
roughfare. But there was the seriousness of anxiety, if not the 
gloom of despair, in the home, in the private sanctuary, in the 
public office — in every place where thoughtful minds contem- 
plated the future, and looked beyond the circle of the twenty- 
four hours. 

Washington was gay, in the mean time, not with thought- 
Jessness, but with exultations over the prospects of the war, 
and the promises of its government. Balls, "diamond" wed- 
dings, presidential levees, social parties, with splendid arrays 
of silks and jewels, with all the fantasy of %vealth, the inso- 
lence of licentiousness, and the fashionable commerce of lust, 
amused the hours. Mr. Lincoln was jocose again. He snapped 
his fingers at " the rebellion." He attended the theatre night- 
ly. This piece of human jacquerie chattered incessantly over 
the success of his schemes. The Northern newspapers indulged 
the almost immediate prospect of a peace, which was to irra- 
diate the Yankee arras, humiliate the South, and open the door 



THE TIIIKD YEAK OF THE WAR. 209 

to the prosperity of the conquerors in an indiscriminate plun- 
der, and the lasting vassalage of the vanquished. The New 
York Herald declared, that even if this event did not happen 
in the festivities of the Christmas season of 1863, it would cer- i 
tainly be celebrated in the early part of the ensuing year. 

Intelligent men of tlie South, understood the ap- 
proaching issues. The war w;is to be prosecuted by the Korth 
with certain important accessions to its former advantages ; 
and, on the side of the South, there was a demand for a new 
measure of that devotion in the minds of the people, which 
wins success on unequal terms — and without which all expe- 
dients of States, all violence of legislation, and all commands 
of authority are utterly in vain. 

14 



210 THE TIIIKD YEAK OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

The Importance of the Winter Campaigns of the "War. — A Scries of KumarkaMe 
Events. — Eiiconra<jenient of the Confederacy. — Kosseu's Kaid. — A Mairniticent 
Prize. — Pickett's Expedition against Newbeun. — Tlie Fight on Bachelor's Creek. — 
Destruction of the Yankee Gunboat " Underwriter."— Tlie Brilliant Expl )it of Com- 
mander Wood. — Kesults of the Expedition. — The Affair of John's Island. — General 
Wise's Fifflit. — The Battle of Ooean Fond, — History of the Yankee Expeditions into 
Florida. — Lincoln's Designs npon Florida. — Their Utter Defeat. — Political Jng<,dcry 
of Seymour's Expedition. — Price of "Three Electoral Votes."— Sueuman's E.xpedi- 
tion in the Southwest. — Wliat it Contemplated. — Grant's Extensive Designs. — Tho 
Strategic Triangle. — Grant's Proposed Removal of the Mississippi River. — Polk's Re- 
treat into Alabama. — Forrest's Heroic Enterprise. — His Defeat of Smith's and Grier- 
son's Columns. — Sherman's Ketreat to Vicksb\irg. — His Disgraceful Failure. — The 
Yankee Campaign in tho West Disconcerted. — The Lines in North Georgia. — Kepulso 
of the Yankees. 

So far in the history of the war, the winter had been com- 
paratively an uninteresting period. Tiiat of 1863-64 was not 
an exception to this observation. But although there was, in 
this period, no battles on the dominant military lines in Yir- 
ginia and North Georgia, there was a series of remarkable 
events, running througii several months, each one a marked 
success for the Confederacy, and, collectively, an important 
sum of victory which did much to raise the hopes of the Con- 
federacy and relieve the dark days in which the year 1863 had 
expired. These events transpired at considerable distances 
from each other, and they have no other connection than a 
chronological one, and their singular concurrence in uniform 
success. In this connection we shall treat them. 



EOSSEE S EAID. 

On the 30th of January, a brilliant expedition of General 
Eosser in the Yalley district culminated in the capture of a train 
of ninety-three wagons loaded with commissary stores and forage 
on the way from New Creek to Petersburg, and was prosecuted 
in a few days thereafter to a most unexpected and gratifying 



THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 211 

success. The incidents of this expedition were of unusual in- 
terest. 

For several months past the enemy had kept a garrison at 
the village of Petersburg, in Hardy count}^ as an outpost to 
their defences of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Peters- 
burg was some forty-two miles from New Creek, their princi- 
pal depot for supplies and operations. 

General Early, who had lingered in the Yalley since the 
Averill raid, concluded to go over and capture this party 
at Petersburg, numbering about one thousand, and strongly 
fortified. He sent General Rosser's brigade (cavalry) and 
four pieces of McClannahan's battery (Imboden's com- 
mand) through Brock's Gap, and puslied on himself with 
Thomas's brigade of infantry from New Market, by Orkney 
S])rings, to the same destination — Moorefield, in Hardy. 
Moorefield is between Petersburg and the railroad, eleven 
miles from the former place. Rosser and the artillery arrived 
first. The plan was for Early to remain with the infantry at 
Moorefield, preventing the enemy's escape to the railroad by 
that route, while Rosser passed over Patterson Creek mountain 
— fifteen miles across — and took position on the turnpike lead- 
ing from Petersburg to New Creek. AVhen Rosser reached 
Moorefield he learned that the road from that place across Pat- 
terson Creek mountain to the turnpike had been blockaded by 
felling numberless trees and cutting away the road itself. He 
also learned that a large train of wagons were coming up from 
New Creek to Petersburg, lieavily guarded by infantry. He 
started across the mountain with his brigade and the four 
pieces. In the gap he met one or two hundred of the enen)}', 
perfecting the blockade and guarding the pass. They were 
charged by the Twelfth cavalry and fled. The pioneers went 
to work heartily. Never did axes fly more rapidly. The train 
was near the point on the turnpike opposite the mouth of the 
gap. If it passed that place, the probability was of its escape 
within the breastworks at Petersburg, which was only ten 
miles distant. The fortifications were strong, and the chances 
were against the capture of this place, being reinforced by the 
wagon guard. In an hour the obstructions were cleared away, 
and the horsemen and cannon rushed into the turnpike, and 
saw, with exultation, a long line of snowy-covered wagons 



212 TIIIC THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 

slowlj moving towards tliem. Our position was difficult. If 
tlic twelve hundred infantry guarding the wagons should make 
a stnbhorn resistance, the force at Petersburg might come up 
and fall upon our rear. Rosser had only about eight hundred 
cavalry. The dispositions were soon made. Colonel White's 
(Lige) battalion and three pieces were sent towards Petersburg 
— the balance of the brigade and one piece of artillery ad- 
vanced upon the train. The enemy were so certain of success, 
that they never even turned their wagons around, but stopped 
them facing us in the pike. 

The Yankees were posted at right angles with the pike, be- 
hind a ten-rail fence. The long-range guns were dismounted 
and advanced as infantry. A squadron of cavalry were sent 
to the left to flank the enemy, while another was placed in the 
pike. The piece opened. The dismounted men trudged through 
a miry meadow, sinking to their ankles, right up a hill to meet 
twelve hundred Yankees with their guns resting upon the 
fence. Four hundred cavalry, on foot, in an open field, with 
boots and spur§, and without the advantage of order, faced 
such odds and such position ! The enemy's artillery, which 
had accompanied the train from New Creek, thinking all safe, 
turned back a few miles below, hence they were without can- 
non. We had only one piece. It being }>laced in a flat, and 
firing up hill, the recoil came almost directly against the axle, 
and it broke. Still it continued to fire, carrying dismay 
among the wagoners and the enemy's line. 

The action lasted about twenty minutes. The squadron on 
the left charged a Yankee squadron up hill, some on foot lead- 
ing their horses, and as each one reached the plateau mounted 
and spurred after the frightened enemy, who fled without 
making but a feeble resistance. Meanwhile the party behind 
the fence were routed and fled ; but being too swift for boots 
and spurs, the cavalry on the pike charged upon them. The 
immense train, now in a mass of confusion, so blocked the pike 
as to prevent overtaking the fugitives. The whole train was 
now in our hands.* 



* The prize is thus described by a correspondent who participated in the 
affair : " There stood ninety-three six-nmlo wagons, loaded to the very sheet 
with commissary stores, new gear, new wagons, new eveiything. Contents, 



TIIK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 213 

After securing liis prize, Ilosser moved rapidly on to co- 
operate with Early in the capture of Petersburg. But infor- 
mation of the advance had been received, and the garrison 
evacuated the ])lace during the night. They liad powerful 
works and six pieces of cannon, and, if they had been less 
cowardly, might have given us a terrible reception. 

Ilosser, when he had discovered the escape of the Yankees, 
wheeled and moved n])on the railroad, destroying two bridges 
— one over Patterson creek, the other the North Branch of the 
Potomac. 

The expedition got back safely into the valley. Posser 
brought off two hundred and seventy prisoners, fifty wagons 
and teams, twelve hundred cattle and five hundred sheep. 



PICKETT 8 EXPEDITIO^f AGAINST NEWBERN. 

The town of Newbern, situated at the junction of the Trent 
and Neuse, was a place of some note in North Carolina. Soon 
after the fall of lioanoke Island, on the 14th day of February, 
1862, it fell into the hands of the Yankees, since which time 
it had been in their possession, and had been the seat of some 
of their most important military operations. Immediately 
after occupation, extensive fortifications were erected, and the 
lines extended over some twenty miles of surrounding country. 
The regiments stationed here had been composed principally 
of men from Massachusetts and New' York, the blackest of 
Abolitionists, full of schemes and plans for negro emancijjation, 
equalization and education. Negro regiments had been organ- 
ized ; companies of disloyal Carolinians put in service against 
us; the most tyrannical rule established; and both men and 
cfiicers had been guilty of the grossest outrages and atrocities. 
For many months they had occupied the town securely, retain- 
ing undisturbed possession, scarcely dreaming of the possibility 
of an attack. In the river some two or three gunboats were 



' in part,' corn, oats, flour, bacon, ad infinitum ; coffee, two thousand pounds 
nicely roasted ; candles (adamantine), fifty boxes ; sugar, by the barrel ; fresh 
oysters, one thousand cans ; brandy peaches, five hundred cans ; cheese, hats, 
&c., &c., ' too numerous to mention.' One bushel of pocket-knives." 



211 THE THIRD YEAR OF TIIK WAR. 

generally lyinf^, either ancliored off the town or cruising np or 
down the Neuse or Trent, to the great terror of the inhabitants 
living near their banks. 

General Pickett's demonstration upon Newbern, M^hich sur- 
prised the Yankees, on the 1st of Februarj', appears to have 
followed just in the retiring footsteps of a Yankee raiding 
party which had been sent out from the town. He had with 
him two brigades only — Clingman's and Hoke's — while Gene- 
ral Barton had been sent up the Trent to fall upon the town 
simultaneously with those in front. An expedition of boats, 
under command of Commander Wood, of the Confederate 
Nav}'', was to make a demonstration upon the enemy's gun- 
boats, and to essay, if possible, their capture or destruction. 

Early on the morning of 1st February, tlie Yankee outposts 
at Bachelor's creek were attacked by the Confederates. The 
force of the enemy here occupied a strong line of fortifications 
along the edge of the creek, on both flanks of a powerful 
blockhouse, which commanded the approach to the bridge. 

While a furious shower of shot and shell was kept up near 
the bridge, the right of our line succeeded in pushing through 
the marsh and effected a crossing, flanking the enemy. A 
vigorous attack was made by the Confederates, and the Yan- 
kees were driven out, and began falling back. Those of our 
men on the other side of the creek rushed upon the bridge^ 
laid the pontoon planks, crossed, and joined the fight. Charg- 
ing with a yell, they broke the line of the enemy, and pursued 
them to the cover of the fortifications of Newbern. 

The night passed without a general attack ; but not without 
a bold achievement by the Confederates. 

The Yankee gunboat. Underwriter, had passed up the ISTeuso 
river near Fort Stephenson, throwing out her anchors and 
placing all her guns, to be in readiness for any service in case 
of an attack on the town. About one o'clock at night, the sen- 
tinel saw some boats approaching, and, hailing them, received 
no reply. They were Wood's boats. As they came up the 
Yankees greeted them with a volley of musketry, which 
flashed in the very faces of the daring Confederates, the balls ' 
whistling unpleasantly into the boats or into the water beyond. 
But the boats were soon at the side of the steamer, the grap- 
neks thrown on, and a hand-to-hand combat joined between 



TIIR THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 215 

the boarding-partj and tlic crew. But the Yankees soon cried 
for quarter, and the steamer was ours. The Confederate engi- 
neer Gill was lying in the gangway, shot in four places and 
mortally wounded, and nndshipinan Saunders, cut down in a 
hand-to-hand tigHt, was breathing his last upon the decks. 

The Underwriter was moored, head and stern, to the shore, 
under three of the largest batteries, and hardly a stone's throw 
from the wharf. The flash of the guns and the report of 
musketry had aroused the soldiers on shore, and they were 
now witnesses of the scene, but determined not to be inactive 
ones; for, regardless of their oM'n prisoners on board, they 
fired a shell into the steamer, which, striking the upper ma- 
(thinery and ex})loding on the deck, produced a terrible shock. 
To spare the prisoners and wounded, Captain Wood ordered, 
them to be put into the boats and the ship made ready for fir- 
ing. As the steam was down, it was found it would be impos- 
sible to take time to get it up under the heavy fire of batteries 
not one hundred yards away ; and so, the wounded and pris- 
oners being put into the boats, the vessel was fired. In a few 
minutes the Underwriter was one mass of flame, burning up 
the dead bodies of the Yankees killed in action. 

General Pickett having ascertained the strength of the for- 
tifications of Newbern, concluded that it would be useless to 
risk an assault upon them, and appears to have been satisfied 
with the results his expedition had already accomplished. In- 
deed, he represented to the War Department that he had at- 
tempted nothing more than a " reconnoissance in force." But 
the results of the recoimoissance was not a mean victory. 
Pickett had met the enemy in force at Bachelor's creek, killed 
and wounded about one hundred in all, captured thirteen otfi- 
cers and two hundred and eighty prisoners, fourteen negroes, 
two rifled pieces and caissons, three hundred stand of small 
arms, four ambulances, three wagons, fifty-five animals, a 
quantity of clothing, camp and garrison equipage, and two 
flags. Tlie destruction of the Underwriter was an important 
part of the success. She was the largest and best of the Yan- 
kee gunboats in the sounds; had engines of eight hundred 
horse power, the largest the Yankees had taken across Hatteras 
swash ; mounted four guns — two large eight-inch shell guns, 
one twelve-pound rifle, and one twelve-pound howitzer. 



216 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



TUK AFFAIR OF JOHn's ISLAND. 



An incident " wortliy of note" was at last to occur in what 
for months had been the dull vicinity of famous Charleston. 

On the 9th of February the enemy came over in force from 
Folly to Kiawali Island, and thence crossed over at a place 
called the Ilaulover, to John's Island, killing, wounding, and 
capturing some nine men of Major Jenkins's command. With 
about one hundred and fifty men only, he fought them until 
night, when Colonel Tabb reinforced him, and tlie Colonel im- 
mediately attacked the enemy at night, with but a battalion, 
and staggered them so that they paused and did not advance 
again until Colonel Pago reinforced them with another battal- 
ion of the 26tli Yirginia, the next morning. 

General Wise sent forward more troops, and went in person 
on the 10th, and got there just as five hundred and fifty in- 
fantry, with one battery and two hundred cavalry were drawn 
up in line under the fire of two thousand, at least, of the 
enemy. Seeing they were about to turn our left flank. Gen- 
eral Wise ordered our forces to fall back to a point called the 
" Cocked Hat." There we took a position and awaited rein- 
forcements. They came up in time to increase our numbers to 
about one thousand infantry, and two batteries of artillery. 

The enemy did not advance until the 11th. By 3 p. m. they 
came up to our front. Just at this moment General Colquitt 
reinforced us with nine hundred men. At 3.25 p. m. we 
opened upon the enemy with six pieces, the Marion battery, 
and one section of Charles's, at about three-quarters of a mile 
distance. The enemy replied with three pieces — Parrott's and 
Blakely's. They ceased firing at forty minutes past 5 p. m., 
and retreated rapidly, leaving some of their dead. Four bod- 
ies were found on the ground. General Wise's men were too 
much broken and fatigued to follow them. The enemy retired 
in confusion to Ilaulover, burnt the Seabrook houses there, and 
before day crossed back to Kiawah, burning the bridge behind 
them. 



THE TUIKD YEAR OF THE WAK. 217 



THE BATPLE OF OCEAN POND. 



But the montli of February was to be distinguished by an 
important battle, and that in a part of the Confederacy which 
had yet attracted but little notice in the war. 

The Yankees hud invaded Florida in the spring of 1862, 
when they occupied Jacksonville. They then said they came 
to protect the city against the reprehensible incendiarism of 
some of our own people ; and, after this ])rofession of j)rotec- 
tion, and making great promises of an intention to hold the 
place forever, thus duping a good many disaffected citizens to 
take sides with them in some sort of a State government which 
they proposed, and finding much less of Union sentiment than 
they expected, but more of a military demonstration in their 
front than they looked for, they departed, after a three weeks' 
stay in the " water-oak city." 

They came again in October, 1862. But this expedition 
turned out to be a very heavy negro trade ; and General 
Brannon, who commanded it, after collecting a large number 
of " contrabands," took his departure. 

Again, in March, 1863, the Yankees invaded Florida, to try 
the experiment there of recruiting blacks. They were only 
partially successful ; and the third experiment of invasion 
ended, leaving its malignant track in the burning of two 
churches, and laying waste a number of squares of private re- 
sidences in the beautiful little city of Jacksonville. 

The fourth invasion was designed at Washington, and con- 
templated nothing less than the taking and holding of the 
whole State of Florida, reincor])orating it into the Union, and 
erecting a State government there under the auspices of Mr. 
Lincoln's private secretary, who was sent to Florida to engineer 
the political part of the movement. The times were thought 
to be ripe for so extensive a design upon Florida. The opera- 
tions against Charleston were virtually abandoned ; surplus 
troops were on hand ; and deserters and fugitives had per- 
suaded the Yankees that the pathway was oi:)en, and that all 
there was to resist them was a local force of not more than a 
dozen companies scattered broadcast over the State. It was 
Boon known that a force of six or seven thousand Yankee 



218 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

troops, under command of Major-general Seymour, had left 
Cliaileston harbor in eighteen transports for what was supposed 
to be the easy conquest* of Florida. 

The State was in General Beauregard's military department, 
and that alert comnumder had hastened General Colquitt down 
to meet the movement of the enemy. General Finnegan was 
in command of a small force at Camp Finnegan, where the 
enemy had expected to surprise him. He eluded him b^'- with- 
drawing his forces through the woods. The enemy advanced 
twenty miles on the railroad, and took the junction of the other 
railroad crossing it, the place or village known as Baldwin. 
Our rail lines in their hands, our case seemed desperate. The 
enemy advanced still westward towards Lake City, which had 
long been tlie head-quarters of the Eastern Department. His 
advance cavalry had come within three miles of Lake City, 
But troops were pouring in to Finnegan. General Colquitt 
and his brigade were en route. The celebrated Chatham artil- 
lery of Savannah, which stood the brunt of Fort Wagner for 
long weeks, arrived. Tiiey were hurried down. Body after 
body of troops arrived. Clinch's cavalry were expected to 
enter the State in the rear of the enemy, and thus cut off their 
retreat while the main body of the troops pushed them back. 
Our forces concentrated and fortified at Oulustre, a spot pre- 
serving its Indian name. It was the headwaters of a creek of 
that name, being a continuous swamp on the right of the rail- 
road, inclining southward. Ocean Pond, or one of the inland 
lakes of Florida, lying not far north, thus forming a good de- 
fensible position. Our forces there concentrated about five 
thousand men. Our rifle-pits and redoubts connected with 
the swamp on the south, and Ocean Pond on the north. 

On the morning of the 20th February, General Finnegan 
was notified that the enemy was approaching. About 12 
M., they were reported as distant four miles. The command 
was tiicn moved out to meet them. 

When we had marched three miles from camp, our cavalry 
was discovered falling back rapidly. Our line of battle 
was formed at once, but so rapidly did the enemy advance that 
a furious fire commenced before the line was completed. The 
fire soon became general. The battle opened at 2 o'clock p. m. 
For two hours the enemy was steadily pushed back, though 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 219 

they resisted most obstinately. "We had captured in this time 
five pieces of artillerj', and the enemy were at their last line. 
Just then our ammunition became exhausted. It was a trying 
time to all our troops. Their conduct, however, was above 
praise. They remained steadfast in line under a heavy fire, to 
■which thei'e was scarcely any reply. But as soon as cartridges 
were distributed, the men moved forward, and drove them again. 

Just at sunset, the Twenty-seventh Georgia, commanded by 
Colonel Zachry, made a furious attack upon the centre. This 
movement was seconded by a flank attack of the Sixth Georgia, 
Colonel Lofton, upon the enemy's right. They now broke and 
fled in great confusion. We pursued until dark. The Yankees 
did not halt until they had placed the St. Mary's river in their 
rear, twenty miles from the battle-field. The fruits of the vic- 
tory were five pieces of artillery, two stands of colors, two 
thousand small arms, and five hundred prisoners. The enemy 
left upon the field three hundred and fifty dead. They also 
abandoned the severely wounded. 

Our loss amounted to eighty killed and six hundred and fifty- 
wounded. The fight was in the open pine M^oods peculiar to 
Florida. This accounts for the large number wounded in pro- 
portion to the killed. The enemy could not have lost less than 
two thousand killed and wounded. General Finnegan reported 
that the roads for three miles were strewn with the enemy's 
dead and wounded. More than one half of the two negro 
regiments that Seymour had placed in front were said to have 
been killed and wounded. 

The enemy fell back to Jacksonville, forty-five miles from 
where they fought the battle. Our forces followed them along 
the road, and stragglers and wounded were picked up as they 
went. A lady reported that General Seymour passed along, look- 
ing haggard and pale, saying he had lost half of his troops. 

The victory was a subject of extraordinary congratulation. 
Had the enemy been successful at Ocean Pond, there were not 
five hundred men between them and the capital, and, with the 
capture of our rolling stock at Lake City, they would soon 
have reached Tallahassee- and fallen back on St. Mark's as a 
base, and by water held their communications perfectly. Viewed 
in this respect, it was one of the decisive battles of the war, 
and had preserved the State of Florida to the Confederacy. 



220 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

The Yankee journals (probably for political reasons) were 
•more candid in their admissions of defeat at Ocean Pond than 
on any other occasion of disaster to them in the war. An in- 
vestigation was ordered in the Yankee Congress. The New 
York Herald declared that the whole movement grew out of 
the political jugglery for the next Presidency, and the whole 
thing was a trick to secure the electoral vote of Florida. It 
said that " a thousand lives were lost in the attempt to get 
three electoral votes." 



SHERMAN 8 EXPEDITION IN THE SOUTHWEST. 

In the winter of 1864, the enemy had planned a grand mili- 
tary combination in the Southwest, whicli, properly viewed, 
was one of the greatest projects of the war. It was imperfect- 
ly known by the Confederates at the time, who, for many 
weeks vainly imagined the object of Sherman's movement into 
Mississippi at the head of an infantry column of thirty-five 
thousand men. 

Events developed the scheme, and indicated Grant, the Yan- 
kees' present military idol, as its originator. It was the con- 
ceit of this General that the " rebellion " presented its most 
formidable front in N^orth Georgia and that he was so circum- 
stanced as to render it extremely difficult to turn his advant- 
age, in the possession of Chattanooga, to account. His disad- 
vantages were the enormous prolongation of the line connect- 
ing the front of operations with the base of supplies, the im- 
perfect character of the communications, and the difficulty of 
accumulating sufficient supplies for along and severe campaign 
in the Gulf States. 

A New York paper declared that it had been recognized as 
a necessary condition to any advance from Chattanooga, look- 
ing to great and decisive results, that a water base be opened 
up, whence a powerful column should march to connect with, 
and support, the Union army advancing from Chattanooga. 
A possible point from which a water base could be opened up 
was Mobile. 

It was known by the beginning of February that three dis- 
tinct Yankee columns, from as many different points, were now 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAK. 221 

under way in the Southwest. A very powerful cavalry col- 
umn, under command of Generals Smith and Grierson, had 
started from Corinth and Holly Springs. An infantry column, 
composed of the two corps of Hurlbut and McPherson, under 
command of General Sherman, was under way from Vicksburg. 
A combined land and naval expedition was moving from New 
Orleans. 

While Mobile was the plain objective point at which the 
latter force aimed, it is probable that Sherman did not design 
to make an overland march from Vicksburg to Mobile — about 
three hundred miles. There is reason to believe that he ex- 
pected, when he marched out of Vicksburg, to reach Selma, 
in Alabama. The heavy column of cavalry that started from 
Memphis, and constituted an important part of his forces, was 
to move rapidly across Mississippi and Alabama, cut the in- 
terior railway lines, destroy the bridges and Government work- 
shops, lay waste the country, and gain the rear of General 
Polk, harass and delay his retreat, and, if possible, force him 
down towards Mobile, while Sherman rushed upon him in 
front. Had General Polk retreated upon Mobile, the attack 
upon which by the Federal fleets was calculated if not design- 
ed to draw him in that direction, Sherman would have occu- 
pied Meridian, Demopolis, and Selma, and thus have rendered 
his escape impossible, and the fall of Mobile, from lack of pro- 
visions and without a blow, a matter of absolute certainty. 
The possession of Mobile and Selma would have given the 
Federal commander two important water bases, the one on the 
Mississippi, at Vicksburg, the other at Mobile, on the Gulf, 
two navigable rivers communicating with the latter — the Ala- 
bama and Tombigbee — and two railways ready to hand, viz.: 
the Mobile and Ohio, and the Vicksburg and Jackson roads. 
Once in possession of these important points and his army firm- 
ly established in the triangle formed by the Alabama and Tom- 
bigbee rivers, and the railroad leading from Selma to Demop- 
olis and Meridian, and we should no more have been able to 
dislodge him from his position than we had been to drive the 
enemy from the Virginia Peninsula and Fortress Monroe. 

It must be cpnfessed that there were in these combinations 
the marks of a bold, brilliant, original conception. General 
Gr.ant had contemplated, so to speak, the removal of the Mis- 



222 THE TIIIKD YEAK OF THE WAR. 

sissippi river from Yicksburg and New Orleans to Montgom- 
ery and Mobile ; while at the same time the organization of 
this line would have operated as a flank movement upon Gen- 
eral Johnston's army, and might have resulted in the fall of 
Atlanta, and the occupation by the legions of the enemy of the 
northern half of the great State of Georgia. He proposed thus 
to get possession of the only remaining line of defence which 
it was possible for the Confederates to take up when he should 
advance from Chattanooga. Military men of the Korth had 
recognized that, if the Confederates were once turned at Atlan- 
ta, the line of the Tombigbee was the only available position 
left them. The other line led directly into a cul-de-sac, end- 
ing in Florida. If, therefore, the present movements were suc- 
cessful, it would clutch this single position at which the Con- 
federates could have hoped to make any protracted stand. 

But Grant — and it will be found to be his characteristic 
fault — had overtasked himself. His formidable combination 
was to fail because too much was attempted, and because it 
was to be met by the Confederates with consummate skill and 
courage. The co-operating columns were too widely separated, 
were exposed to too many chances of failure, and were entrusted 
to too many different heads. 

The expedition so largely planned was inaugurated by the 
moving of the first two columns. Sherman left Vicksburg the 
1st of February, at the head of thirty-five thousand infantry, 
two or three thousand cavalry, and from sixty to eighty pieces 
of artillery. Almost simultaneously Grierson or Smith began 
their march through !North Mississippi with about ten thou- 
sand cavalry and mounted infantry. Mobile, at the same time, 
was threatened by water with the enemy's fleet of gunboats, 
and by land from Pensacola and Pascagoula. 

General Polk had recently been placed by the Confederate 
authorities in command of the Department of the Southwest. 
He assumed command late in December, and scarcely had 
more than familiarized himself with the command, and had 
but little time to organize his troops and collect together all 
the energies of his department. 

General Polk took the field. Forrest was still detached 
from the main army, and remained so as to watch the move- 
ments of Grierson and his command. Sherman with his thirty- 



THE THIKD YEAli OF THK WAR. 223 

five thousand men could only be opj^osed by Loring, French, 
and Lee. 

From Yicksburg the enemy moved very rapidly and vigor- 
ously on to Jackson, and from that point they threatened Me- 
ridian, the railroad centre of the Southvrestern Department. 
At this time General Polk borrowed from the Mobile garrison 
two or three brigades to retard the enemy in order to enable 
him to save his supplies, which had accumulated at different 
points of ihe railroads for the past two years. It would have 
been the height of folly to have given the enemy battle under 
the circumstances. Our force, when strengthened by the rein- 
forcements from Mobile, did not reach over half that of t^ie 
enemy, inclusive of our cavalry. 

With the additional force from Mobile the enemy was checked, 
enabling General Polk to save his accumulated stores and protect 
his supplies. The little army fell back from Brandon in per- 
fect order — slowly and successfully. The enemy moved his 
bodies of infantry, artillery and cavalry, with caution and 
prudence. Lee hung upon his flanks and compelled him to 
move in compact column, giving him but little time to forage 
or to depredate upon the country. In the mean time General 
Polk, with all his acknowledged energy, was moving all his 
stores from points of the different railroads likely to fall into 
the enemy's hands. 

On Sunday, the 14th, Lieutenant-general Polk evacuated 
Meridian, with his little army, heavily pressed by an enemy 
thirty-five thousand strong. Before the evacuation, however, 
every article belonging to the different departments of the Gov- 
ernment had been moved. The rolling stock of four important 
railroads had been saved — not a car was left, and scarcely a 
wheel left. The locomotives and cars belonging to the Mobile 
and Ohio road were safely housed in Mobile. Tiiose of the other 
roads were brought to the Tombigbee and safely placed upon 
the other side of the river. It was a literal and positive evac- 
uation of this great railroad centre. The little town of Merid- 
ian stood lonely amid the silence of pine barrens, without a 
noise to disturb its solitude or to arouse its inhabitants. The 
garrison belonging to Mobile had been safely returned to their 
duties there, and Mobile was as safe as the department at 
Kichmond intended it to be. General Polk retired to Pe- 



224 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

mopolis, Alabama, and prepared for the gathering emer- 
gency. 

The enemy's cavalry column under Smith and Grierson was 
to pass through one of the richest districts of the Confederacy 
to the assistance of Sherman. 

From Pontotoc, Mississippi, to the southern boundary line of 
Noxubee county, a distance of eighty or ninety miles from 
forty to fifty in width, there was an area of country rich as the 
Delta of the Nile. Magnificent plantations were spread on. 
either side of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, level as the sea, 
and dotted with abodes of wealth and intelligence. Pontotoc, 
Aberdeen, Columbus, and Macon, were the centres of local 
trade for all this region. These towns had an aggregate pop- 
ulation of perhaps thirty thousand, and the narrow territorial 
limits of their trade illustrated the fact that this district was 
the richest granary of the South. 

Owing to the exhaustion of his horses, the want of arms and 
munitions, and other causes, Forrest could array a force of 
only two thousand four hundred men to confront Smith and 
Grierson's column of seven thousand of the best equipped cav- 
alry the Yankees had ever put in the field. Forrest's men, 
too, were mostly new and untried, especially in the cavalry 
service. He had recently recruited them in "West Tennessee. 
It seemed the extreme of rashness and recklessness, to attempt 
with such a force to arrest the march of a column of seven 
thousand splendidly mounted and equipped men, led by expe- 
rienced officers, whose march thus far had been uninterrupted, 
who were buoyant and confident, and were charged with such 
an important mission. The junction of this cavalry force with 
Sherman at Meridian, was the key of the Yankee plan for the 
occupation and subjugation of the Southwest. If successful, 
Sherman would have been in a condition to advance upon 
Deraopolis and Selma, and these important points, as well as 
the rich countries adjacent, would have been at the mercy 
of the enemy. 

General Polk, with his scant infantry force, quickly per- 
ceived the momentous issue which depended upon the result 
of the cavalry movement from Memphis, and after securing 
his small army on the east side of the Tombigbee, and remov- 
ing all his supplies and munitions and returning to Mobile the 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 225 

troops lie liad borrowed from General Maurj, sent imperative 
orders to Lee and Forrest to unite their forces, and at every 
cost to crush and drive back Smith and Grierson's cav-' 
alrj. 

Lee did not receive these orders in time to reach Forrest 
with his force, which was already greatly exhausted by the 
continual skirmishing with Sherman's column. Forrest, there- 
fore, was left alone with his two thousand four hundred 
men to perform this immense undertaking. Confronting the 
enemy on the broad prairies near West Point, on the Tibbee 
river, he prepared for action. The enemy formed in a long 
and most imposing line, outflanking Forrest and threatening 
the instant demolition of his small and imperfectly organized 
force. The charge was given, and the Yankees advanced with 
great boldness and an air of certain victory. Great was their 
surprise when, as they approached Forrest's line, they observed 
his men slip from their horses, converting themselves into 
infantry, each man taking the most favorable position, availing 
themselves of every advantage the ground afforded, and await- 
ing with the utmost coolness tiie impetuous charge of the Yankee 
chivalry. On came the splendidly mounted dragoons, under 
those far-famed Yankee chiefs. Smith and Grierson, with such 
fierce displays of valor and determination as augured badly for 
Forrest's infantry scouts, scattered through the buslies and over 
the prairie in rather an irregular and unmilitary style. But 
these valorous horsemen did not advance far before the balls of 
two thousand riflemen began to rattle through their ranks with 
fearful eff'ect. Scores of men and horses fell at the first fire, 
and their onward movement was checked, and before they 
could recover and reform the volley was repeated — again and 
again — until dismay and terror began to prevail in their ranks, 
and they soon broke into confusion and fled. 

Having discovered the small force of Forrest, several at- 
tempts were made by Smith and Grierson to rally their men 
and resume the offensive. Their eff'orts were successful on the 
hills, just beyond Okalona, when the last grand charge was 
made by them on the 21st of February. The fight commenced 
late in the evening, and was obstinate, as the enemy were 
forced to make repeated stands to hold us in check, and to save 
their pack mules, &c., from a stampede. It closed with a 

15 



226 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

grand cavalry charge of the enemy's whole force. "We re- 
pulsed them with heavy loss, and completely routed them. 
- General Forrest's command was too tired to continue the 
pursuit. General Gholson, with six or seven hundred State 
troops, arrived and went in pursuit. The enemy never halted 
for a moment in his retreat, and M'hen last heard from, the 
renmant of this splendid force was hastening fast to Memphis, 
in far different ])light from that in which it had so recently 
emerged from its fortifications. 

The disastrous retreat of Grierson and Smith npon Memphis 
was decisive of the campaign. Their retreat naturally inter- 
rupted Sherman's communications all along the line of the Mo- 
bile and Ohio Railroad, and deprived his army of an important 
source of supply, without which he was incapable of maintain- 
ing his fi^round. Worse still, the fallinc: back of these two of- 
ficers took away from him the cavalry force upon which he re- 
lied to prosecute his operations. He was left to retrace his 
steps in disappointment and disgrace, and to retire to Yicks- 
burg. Back there he dragged his weary, broken-down column, 
in a demoralized state ; having accomplished not a single mil- 
itary resnlt in his campaign, and having achieved no other 
glory than that of warfare upon private property and inoifen- 
Bive people, a cheap triumph of the ruffian and the plunderer. 

In a congratulatory order to his army. General Polk said : 
" The concentration of our cavalry on the enemy's column of 
cavalry from West Tennessee formed the turning point of the 
campaign. That concentration broke down his only means of 
subsisting his infantry. His column was defeated and routed, 
and his whole force compelled to make a hasty retreat. Never 
did a grand campaign, inangurated with such pretension, ter- 
minate more ingloriously. With a force three times that which 
was opposed to its advance, they have been defeated and forced 
to leave the field with a loss of men, small arms and ar- 
tillery." 

Tlie Yankees made an absurd attempt to cover up Sherman's 
defeat Avith the stereotyped lie, that the expedition had ''ac- 
complished all that was intended." It could hardly be possible 
that the object of an expedition of such magnitude as that con- 
ducted by Sherman through Mississippi was sinjply to march 
over a sterile country one hundred and fifty miles, take posses- 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 227 

sion of a comparatively insignificant point, and then march 
back again. 

The truth was, Grant's grand combination in the West had 
completely broken down ; and Sherman's defeat had given the 
Confederacy two months more time to prepare for the great 
campaign of 1864. 

While the events we have been narrating M^ere transpiring 
in the Southwest, as part of the grand plan, there had been a 
movement on the lines in North Georgia. Thomas, in imme- 
diate command of the Yankee forces there, had attempted an 
advance on the 25th of February. For a whole day he at- 
tempted to penetrate our lines, but was compelled suddenly to 
fall back upon his base at Chickamauga. The " On-to-Atlanta" 
was a programme all parts of which had been disconcerted, 
and to amend which the campaign in the West had to be put 
over until the fighting month of May. 



228 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER X. 

• Auspicious Signs of tlie Spring of 1804.— Military Successes of the Confederates. — 
Improvements in the Internal Polity of tlie Confederacy — Two Important Measures 
of Legislation. — Revolution of our Finances. — Enlargement of the Conscription. — 
Theory of the New Military Law. — A Blot on the Political Kecord of the Confeder- 
acy. — Qualified Suspension of the Habeas Corpus. — An Infamous Edict, but a " Dead- 
letter." — An Oificial Libel upon the Confederacy. — The Real Condition of Civil 
Liberty in the South. — The Conscription not properly a Measure of Force. — Im- 
pressments but a System of Patriotic Contribution. — Development of the Yankee 
Government into Despotism. — An Explanation of this. — The Essence of Despotism 
in One Yankee Statnte. — Military Kesouuces of the Confederacy. — Its Military 
System, the Best and Most Elastic in the World. — The War Conducted on A Vulan- 
tary i?as«s.— Supplies.— Scarcity of Meat. — The Grain Product. — Two Centres of Sup- 
plies. — A Dream of Yankee Hate. — Great Natural Resources of the North. — Summary 
of the Yankee Military Drafts. — Tonnage of the Yankee Navy. — The Yankee War 
Debt. — Economic Ett'eets of the War. — Its Effects on European Industry. — Yankee 
Conquest of the South an Impossibility. — A Remarkable Incident of the War. — 
Dahlgren's Raid around Richmond. — Kilpatrick's and Cnstar's Parts of the E.vpe- 
dition. — Dahlgren and his Negro Guide. — His " Braves" Whipped by the Richmond 
Clerks and Artisans. — Death of the Marauder. — Revelation of his Infamous Designs. 
— Copy and History of •' the Dahlgren Papers." — A Characteristic Yankee Apothe- 
osis. — Ridiculous and Infamous Behavior of the Confederate Authorities. — A Bru- 
tal and Savage Threat. — President Davis in Melodrama. 

The auspicious sio^ns of the spring of 1864 was the theme 
everywhere of the Confederate press. "We have seen how a 
current of success had set in for the South. Mr. Lincohi's 
shocking experiment in Fk)rida ; Thomas's disastrous repulse 
in North Georgia ; Slierman's magnificent failure, were glad 
auguries for the Confederate arms in the coming campaigns. 
The situation was being rapidly improved. Not to speak just 
yet of our achievements in Texas, in Western Louisiana, and 
along the banks of the Mississippi, we could refer with satisfac- 
tion to Longstreet's exploits in East Tennessee, subsequent to 
the raising of the siege of Knoxville, and fancied permanent 
occupation of East Tennessee by the enemy. The siege ot 
Charleston had proven only a running sore, where the strength 
and wealth of the enemy were wasted without the slightest 
prospect of advancing one step beyond the landward beach of 
Morris Island. Florida had afforded nothing but disaster to 
tliem and glory to us. The rainy season would soon render it 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 229 

as uninhabitable to a Northern army as it has hitherto been 
nnconquerable. "Dixie," said the Yankee papers, was "in 
fine feather." 

This period of military success was coincident, too, with cer- 
tain important improvements in the internal polity of the Con- 
federacy. The Confederate Congress of 1803-64:, had accom- 
plished two important measures of legislation. It had revolu- 
tionized the Confederate finances by a law which required the 
currency to be funded, under the penalty, within certain dates, 
of thirty-three and a third per cent., stopped further issues of 
paper money, and provided for the public revenues by heavy 
taxation, and the sale of five hundred millions of six per cent, 
bonds. It had enlarged the conscription and qualified it by a 
system of details, the administration of which, though it prop- 
erly resided in Congress, and should not have been delegated 
to the Executive branch of the Confederacy, which was noto- 
riously corrupted by favoritism, was especially designed to 
compose and protect the vexed industry and resources of the 
country. 

The new military law was designed to devote to the army, 
directly or indirectly, the whole physical power and energy of 
the country. Providing, first, recruits for the ranks by an ex: 
tended conscription, it then organized the remaining labor of 
the country, for the sole use and benefit of the army and the 
country's cause. The great pervading principle of this mili- 
tary bill was that every man owed to his country the duty of 
defending it, either in or out of the ranks, and the law provided 
for the discharge of this paramount duty by putting in the 
ranks all men capable of bearing arms, except certain persons 
who could be of more service to the cause out of, than in the 
army. Exemptions and details were to be permitted upon the 
great and important principle of promoting the public service. 
Recognizing the absolute dependence of the country's cause 
upon the great agricultural interest, the Confederate Congress, 
while protecting this great interest, had made it contribute to 
' the support of the army, for the privilege of its exemption — 
thus protecting the production of the country, without depriv- 
ing the army of the recruits necessary to its reinforcement. 

It is, however, to be confessed, with pain, that the Confed- 
erate Congress of 1803-64, marred the work of this legislative 



230 THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 

year by a base imitation of tlie Washington despotism in a sus- 
pension of the hahean corpus. It was an act of criminal stu- 
pidity, the fruit of an inferiority of mind in our legislators that 
aped the precedents of the Yankee. It is true that the law 
authorizing the suspension of the great writ of liberty was 
qualified by a stringent bill of particulars.* But what can be 



* The following Ib a copy of this unfortunate law : 
A Ull to suspend the privilege oftlie writ 0/ habeas corpus in certain cases. 

Wlicrcas, the Constitution of the Confederate States of America ]irovides, in 
article 1, section 9, paraj^raph 8, that " the privilej^e of the writ of habeas corpus 
eliall not be suspended, unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, tln^ public 
safety may require it;" and, wliereas thci power of suspending th(> privilege of 
Baid writ, as recognized in said article 1, is vested solely in the Congress, which 
is the exclusive judge of the necessity of such suspension ; and, whereas, in tho 
opinion of the Congress, the public safety requires the suspension of said writ 
in the existing case of tlie invasion of these States by tlu; armies of the United 
States ; and, whereas the President has asked for tlie 8US])ension of the writ of 
habeas corpus, and informed Congress of conditions of public danger which ren- 
der the susi)ension of the writ a measure proper for the public defence against 
invasion and insurrection ; now, therefore : 

1. That during the present invasion of the Confederate States, the privilege 
of the writ oi habeas corpus be, and the same is hereby, suspended; but such 
suspension shall apply only to the cases of persons arrested or detained by order 
of the President, Secretary of War, or the general officer commanding the 
Trans-Mississippi INIilitary Department, by the authority and under the control 
of the President. It is hercljy declared that the purposes of Congress in the 
passage of this act is to provide more effectually for the public safety by sus- 
pending the writ oi habeas corpus in the following cases, and no other: 

I. Of treason or treasonable efforts or combinations to subvert the Govern- 
ment of the Confederate States. 

II. Of conspiracies to overthrow the Government, or conspiracies to resist the 
lawful authority of the Confederate States. 

III. Of combining to assist tlie enemy or of communicating intelligence to 
the enemy, or giving him aid and comfort. 

IV. Of conspiracies, preparations and attempts to incite servile insurrection. 

V. Of desertions or encouraging desertions, of harboring deserters, and of 
attempts to avoid military service; Provided, that in cases of palpable wrong 
and opjiression by any subordinate officer, upon any jmrty who does not legally 
owe military service, his superior officer shall grant prompt relief to the op- 
pressed party, and the subordinate shall be dismissed from office. 

VI. Of spies and other emissaries of the enemy. 

VII. Of holding correspondence or intercourse with the enemy, without ne- 
cessity, and without the i)eriiiission of the Confederate States. 

VIII. Of unlawful trading with the enemy and other offences against tho 
laws of the Confederate States, enacted to promote their success in the war. 

IX. Of conspiracies, or attempts to liberate prisoners of war held by the Con- 
federate States. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 231 

most said, to wipe from the record of the Confederacy the stain 
of tliis infamous edict, is, that it was never put into practice. 
It was not put into practice fur tlie siinple reason that tliere was 
no occasion for it ; no one doubted the integrity and patriotism 
of our judiciary ; that brancli of the government was practically 
permitted to continue its dispensations of law and justice; and 
the worst that can be said of the law suspending the habeas 
corpus was, that it was a stain upon our political history. It 
was an uncalled for libel upon the Confederacy ; but although 
it might blacken our reputation, yet it is a satisfaction to know 
that it did not practically affect our system of liberties. 

In contrasting the political systems of the North and South 
in this war, we find an invariable superiority in the latter with 
respect to all questions of civil liberty. This, indeed, is to be 
taken as the most striking and significant moral phenomenon 
of the war. 

Despite the conscription and other harsh necessities of legis- 
lation, the principles of liberty were yet substantially secure 
in the Confederacy. The S])irit of the devotion of the peo|)le 
was, in most instances, in advance of the demands of the gov- 

X. Of conspiracies, or attempts or preparations to aid the enemy. 
Xr. Of persons aiding or inciting others to ahandon the Confederate cause, 
or to resist tlie Confederate States, or to adhere to the enemy. 

XII. Of unlawfully burning, destroying, or injuring, or attempting to burn, 
destroy, or injure any bridge or railroad, or telegraph line of communication, 
or other property v/ith the intent of aiding the enemy. 

XIII. Of treasonable designs to impair the military power of the Govern- 
ment by destroying or attempting to destroy the vessels, or arms, or munitions 
of war, or arsenals, foundries, workshops, or other jjroperty of the Confederate 
States. 

Sec. 2. The President shall cause proper officers to investigate the cases of 
all persons so arrested or detained, in order that they may be discharged if 
improperly detained, unless they can be speedily tried in the due course of law. 

Sec. 8. That during the suspension aforesaid, no military or other officer 
shall be compelled, in answer to any writ of Jinherts corpus, to appear in person, 
or to return the body of any person detained by him by the authority of the 
President, Secretary of War, or the general officer commanding tlie Trans- 
Mississippi Department ; but upon the certificate, under oath, of the otBcer 
having charge of any one so detained that such person is detained by liim as a 
prisoner under the authority aforesaid, further proceedings under the writ of 
habeas corpus, shall immediately cease and remain suspended so long as this 
act shall continue in force. 

Sec. 4. This act shall continue in force for ninety days after the next meeting 
of Congress, and no longer. 



232 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

eminent. The people of the Confederacy were more heartily 
willing than the Yankees to contribute of their substance and 
convenience to the war, but much less willing than they to 
sacrifice their civil liberties to its fancied necessities. In the 
Confederacy the impressments of property were, in fact, in the 
majority of instances, voluntary contributions. In the Con- 
federacy, tlie conscription was not, in effect, a measure of force, 
but was rather to be regarded as a measure to organize the 
proffer of patriotic devotion, and to equalize its service. It was 
the purer spirit and superior motives of the Confederacy in the 
war that made its administration so superior to that of the 
enemy, with regard to the constitutional standards of liberty, 
and the well recognized principles of conservatism. 

The North presented a different picture. Tlie process by 
which the Yankee Government had developed itself into one 
of the vilest despotisms on the earth is one of the most inter- 
esting problems of the history of the war. In an address of 
the Confederate Congress, which met in the spring of 1864, a 
reference was made to Yankee despotism as " engendered in a 
desperate warfare upon the liberties of another and kindred 
people." The language of this reference contains the key of 
the problem. The unholy passions of this war, its hate, its 
greed, its dire revenge, its desperation, induced the people of 
the North to compromise their constitutional rights. They 
were willing to purchase the gratification of their passions at 
the expense of their liberty, and those who gainsayed the 
price were denounced as disloyal persons, and threatened as 
traitors. 

Personal liberty was no longer a thing of any account in 
the eyes of " the best government the world ever saw." There 
was a law on the statute-book of the Government at Washing- 
ton, which not only undertook to deprive the judicial tribunals 
of the States of all cognizance, civil and criminal, over pro- 
ceedings instituted against persons who had done any act 
injurious to a citizen, by order of President Lincoln, but which 
also made the order of the President, or of any one acting 
under his authority, a full and ■perfect defence^ in all courts, in 
any civil or any criminal proceeding in which the act was 
drawn in question. This law annihilated the liberties of the 
citizen ; perfected the despotism at "Washington j and gave 



TlIK THIKD YEAK OF TBE WAE. 



233 



Abraham Lincoln a power above all judicial redress in tlie 
country, and as irresponsible as any autocracy on earth. 

MILITARY RESOURCES OF THE CONFEDERACY. 

The military system of the South was, perhaps, the most 
admirable and elastic in the world. The conscription, which, 
as we have seen, was not regarded in the Confederacy as an 
edict of violence, but was in fact merely an organized form of 
public spirit, was constantly and harmoniously in operation ; 
and it had the especial merit of avoiding that agitation and 
public demoralization inseparable from a system of periodical 
drafts. It provided a class of reserves, from sixteen to eighteen 
years of age, which was constantly passing within the limits of 
the active military age. The army was thus steadily replen- 
ished. It was qualified by a system of details, the administra- 
tion of which was to be constantly concerned in adjusting the 
demands of the military service to precise necessities, and 
accommodating the conscription, either enlarging or contract- 
ing it, to the state of the country. The military system of the 
Confederacy had thus an elasticity which was indeed its most 
valuable quality. 

Ignorant minds appear to have been much impressed with 
theldea that the Confederacy would break down for the want 
of men. There had been yearly repetitions of this idea since 
the commencement of the war ; and yet, strange to say, for all 
this time the Confederate armies had not declined in numbers. 
Fighting on the defensive, their losses were much less than 
those of the Yankees ; occupying interior and shorter lines, 
and commanded by generals who carefully economized human 
life, they did not require the same numbers as the enemy ; 
and, even if they were decreasing, there was this compensa- 
tion : that while they declined in numbers, the Yankee army 
was declining, at a much more rapid rate, in a jperson7ieI, which 
' had come to be mostly composed of negroes and foreigners, 
and in those measures of courage and devotion which best 
insure victory. 

The advantage which the Confederacy had in the conduct 
of the war was that every thing was, really and substantially, 



234 TIIK TIIIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

on the voluntary hash. The impressment law, though violent 
in foi-m, like the conscription, was, in fact, the conduit of patri- 
otic contrihntions. Every thing that was asked for the war 
was generally given with cheerful consent ; and supplies 
poured in upon the Government, from private sources, much 
faster than the transportation of rail-cars, boats, and wagons 
could dispose of them. 

The scarcity of meat was a difficulty which could be ,com- 
paratively endured. There was an impression, long prevalent 
with us, that the South was dependent upon the North for a 
large portion of the meat we consumed. We actually reared 
and slaughtered more animals in proportion to population than 
the North, and it was simply owing to the fact of our almost 
wasteful use of meat, in which they economized, that we 
became annual purchasers of this article to so great an extent. 
ThroM'n upon our own resources, diverting our agriculture 
from the production of our great commercial staples to that of 
breadstuffs, and, along with it, to raising animals, hogs especi- 
ally, since the war began, in sections undisturbed by the 
march of armies, or not affected by epidemics among our 
stock, tlie supplies of meat were far more bountiful than ever 
before. 

But although it must be confessed that our meat supplies, 
which would otherwise have been superabundant, had been 
sadly diminished by the enemy's occupation of Kentucky and 
Tennessee, and the isolation of the Trans-Mississippi, yet none 
but the most ignorant could doubt our sufficiency of other sub- 
sistence in a country where the cereals might be produced on 
every acre of arable land. The difficulty was in tlie ready 
equalization of supplies by ti'ansportation, not in the want of 
them. There were two centres of supplies in the Confederacy, 
inaccessible to the enemy, either of which was sufficient to sub- 
sist our entire army and people ; one whose lines radiated 
through north-western Carolina and the southern tier of coun- 
ties in Virginia, and the other in the unequalled grain disti'icts 
of south-western Georgia and Alabama. To "starve" the 
South was the atrocious dream of Northern hate, scarcely the 
calculation of Yankee shrewdness and intelligence. 

The North had great material resources, but it was wasting 
them in a war the advance of which was more than doubtful, 



THE TIIIED YEAK OF THE WAK. 235 

and the object of wliicli morally unattainable. It had put two 
millions of soldiers in the field * The tonnage of its navy was 
but little short of half a million. Bat while Yankee pride 
took delight in the exhibits, they were not merely displays of 
power, they were also evidences of debt. 

The expenditures of the Yankee Government during the war 
had constantly exceeded the official estimates, while the receipts 
had fallen off. 

Mr. Chase estimated the expenses for 1864 at $750,815,088 ; 
Congress had already appropriated $l,104,000,000/(?r the War 
Department alone! The rate at which the debt had accumu- 
lated, and the amount of claims yet to be adjusted, made it 
certain that the public debt was not far from $3,000,000,000.t 



* The following is a list, compiled from official sources, of Mr. Lincoln's 

enormous calls for troops : 

April 16,1861 75^000 

May 4, 1861 64,748 

From July to December, 1861 500,000 

July 1. 1862 800,000 

Augus-t 4, 1863 300,000 

Draft, summer of 1863 300,000 

February 1, 1864 500,000 

Total 2,039,748 

f The following figures, which we find compiled to our hand, show the various 

loans and liabilities of the Yankee Government thus far authorized by various 
acts of Congress : 

Loan of 1842 $242,621 

Loan of 1847 9,415,250 

Loan of 1848 8,908,341 

Texas indemnity loan of 1850 3,461,000 

Loan of 1858 2oioOo!oOO 

Loan of 1860 7,622,000 

Loanof 1861 18,415,000 

Treasury notes, March 1861 512,910 

Oregon war loan, 1861 1,016,000 

Another loan of 1861 50,000,000 

Three years treasury notes 139,679,000 

Loan of August, 1861 320,000 

Five-twenty loan 400.000,000 

Temporary loans 104,933,103 

Certificates of indebtedness 156,918,437 * 

Unclaimed dividends 114,115 

Carried over 921,557,777 



236 



TIIK THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 



Mr. Chase's statement of his administration exhibited the fol- 
lowing interesting tigures: 

Government expenses, 72 years, 1789 to 1861, $1,458,790,786 
Government expenses, 4 years, 1861 to 1865, 2,692,086,941 

Excess in four years .... $1,238,294,155 

So we find that, accepting the figures and estimates of the 
Yankee Secretary of the Treasury, the expenditures of the 
Government during the administration of Abraham Lincoln 
would nearly double those of the wliole period from the estab- 
lishment of the government to the inauguration of the " age 
of purity." 

It is impossible, with the imperfect materials at present at 
hand, to make a pecuniary estimate of the losses due to the 
shock and derangement of the war. These losses were not 
only shared by the ISTorth and South ; tlie whole commercial 
world was involved in the misfortunes of the war, and dragged 
into its vortex. 

The South, with a population of ten millions, of whom four 
millions were slaves, with about one million of these engaged 
in the production of our great commercial staples, with but 
little artificial labor, but with only tlie simplest implements of 
husbandry, her peculiar social institution and her climate, had 
yet furnished all the vitality, had actually created and brought 
into existence the greater part of all the great wealth-pro- 
ducing artificial labor in other nations. Her productions, which 
could be supplied or substituted from no other avenue without 
enormous additional expense, were indispensable to the capital 
invested and the labor developed. English factories had al- 
ready many of them suspended, or were reduced greatly in 
their operations. Northern newspapers informed ns that not a 

Brought over 921,557,777 

Demand treasury notes 500,000 

Legal tenders, 18(J3 397,767,114 

Legal tenders, 1803 104,969,937 

Postal and fractional currency 50,000,000 

Old treasury notes outstanding 118,000 

Ten-forty bonds 900,000,000 

Literest-bearing treasury notes 500,000,000 

Total $2,774,913,838 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 237 

spindle at Lowell was in operation. The manufacturers of 
France were already clamorous. The only wonder was, that 
civilized nations could so long remain unmoved by such catas- 
trophes — so long remain disinterested spectators of a war upon 
the South for the destruction of our system of natural labor, 
whether for a mere sentiment or for any other cause, that of 
necessity involved the loss to them of an immense invested 
capital, and was destructive of artificial labor equivalent, in 
operatives, to many hundred-fold the number of our slaves. 

And what of the results of conquest? what of the indica- 
tions of final success ? what of the signs of conclusion had the 
war accomplished ? Eight hundred thousand square miles was 
too large an area for decisive war. When we imagine the toil- 
some marches, the mighty mountains, the dense and unhealthy 
swamps, the innumerable and impassable rivers and inlets, 
when we see a resolute people enduring outrage and destitu- 
tion, ever ready to sting the heel of the invader, it is obvious 
that no human force can traverse those distances, subdue that 
people, and establish any other government than what such a 
people shall approve. A territory so extensive could not be 
held by the policy of plunder and extermination. The miser- 
able gains of the thief, the marauder, the ruffian, and the plun- 
derer — the achievements of banditti, might discourage any 
government and dissatisfy any soldiery.* 



* A curious attempt was that of the Yankees to represent to the world the 
extent and permanency of tlieir conquests by bogus State organizations ; alto- 
g(!ther, one of the vilest cheats of the war. Arkansas, Louisiana, and other 
States, were made to play false parts upon paper, and were claimed as acquisi- 
tions for " the Union," when a Yankee dared not show his face in his new do- 
minions outside of his picket lines. It was by the management of bayonets 
that bogus delegates met at Little Rock, and concocted a paper which they 
termed a "Constitution," declaring that slavery should not exist in the State of 
Arkansas, and sent men to Washington to ask to be received back into the 
Union. 

In Louisiana the fiirce of a State election had just been completed. How 
far such an election represented the franchise or free will of the people we 
may infer from the following extract from General Order No. 23, issued by 
General Banks, and paraded in every Government paper the morning of the 
election : 

" Open hostility cannot be permitted. Indifference will be treated as a 
crime, and faction as treason. Men who refuse to defend their country with 
the ballot-box have no just claim to the benefits of liberty regulated by law. 



238 THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAR. 

We leave these discussions to follow the current of military 
events. 



DAHLGREN 8 RAID AROUND RICHMOND. 

In the month of March, 1864, was to occur one of the most 
remarkable incidents of the war ; inasmuch as it was the oc- 
casion of certain documentary evidence of the savage and 
atrocious spirit of our enemies, which lieretofore, though it had 
been the constant assertion of the Confederates, had been per- 
sistently denied in Yankee prints, and concealed from the 
world by brazen lies, audacious recrimination, and the stereo- 
types of Yankee hypocrisy. 

On the 28th of February, a raid was undertaken towards 
Richmond by the Yankee cavalry under General Kilpatrick. 
Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, a son of the Yankee admiral of 
Charleston " sensation," was second in command. After 
reaching Beaver Dam and destroying the water station and 
tearing up a few hundred yards of the track at that point, the 
force divided, Kilpatrick with his command passing through 
the upper part of Hanover into Louisa, where he took the 
mountain road, which he followed until he struck the Brook 
turnpike, which led into Riclimond. 

After the force was divided,* Dahlgren's command proceeded 
to Frederick Ilall, in Louisa county, where they captured sev- 
(M*al of onr officers who were holding a court-martial at tlie 
time. Among tliese officers was Captain Dement, of a Balti- 
more battery, who was compelled to follow the expedition. 
After tearing up the railroad for some distance, Dahlgren pro- 
ceeded rapidly towards tlie James River Canal, which he 
struck in Goochland county. He burnt a grist-mill here, some 
barns, injured some of the locks on the canal, and did other 

Whoever ia indifferent or hostile, must choose between 

the liberty wliicli foreign lands afford, the poverty of the rebel States, and the 
innumerable and inappreciable blessings which our Government confers upon 
its people." 

Thirty-five thousand liOuisianians had already gone to partake of the " pov- 
erty of the rebel States," and about eleven thousand played the farce of voting 
to continue " the blessings which the Yankee Government confers upon its 
people." 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 239 

trifling damage. His men were allowed to amuse tliemselves 
for some hours at the farm-liouses, in hacking up furniture and 
stealing silver sj^oons. Ills purpose was to cross the James 
I'iver liere, get into Richmond by a surprise on the south 
side, and do his peculiar work in that city of the Confederacy. 

He had employed a negro to guide him to a ford of the river. 
He had paid him for the proposed service with what appeared 
to be a five-dollar bill, but was in fact a barber's " token," in 
the shape of a bank note, after the ingenious fashion of Yan- 
kee advertisements. The negro conducted him to a ford, but 
finding the water too high to cross, and imagining that he had. 
been duped, Dahlgren turned upon the helpless black, had 
him instantly hanged, and to expedite the horrible deed, 
furnished a rein from his own bridle to strangle his victim. 

Finding that he could not cross the river, Dahlgren direct- 
ed his movements to make a junction with Kilpatrick. But 
in the mean time all the other parts of the expedition had 
failed. 

One part had been to distract attention by a movement of 
General Custer, with cavalry and artillery, in the direction of 
Charlottesville. It had come to grief. It had reached the 
vicinity of Rio Mills, where Stuart's horse artillery, under 
Major Beckham, was stationed. As soon as the enemy crossed 
the Rivanna river, the artillery, supported by some furlough- 
ed and dismounted men, opened on the advancing column. 
This seemed entirely unexpected, some of the Yankees exclaim- 
ing, " By , the Secesh have been reinforced ; let's go 

back," which they did at a double-quick ; nor did they halt 
to camp until they reached their infantry supports at Madison 
Court-house. 

Kilpatrick's part of the expedition had manifested a similar 
ludicrous cowardice. He had reached the outer line of the 
Richmond fortifications at a little past ten on the morning of 
the 1st of March. A desultory fire was kept up for some 
hours, in which the Yankees who had proposed a desperate in- 
road into Richmond never once got within range of our artil- 
lery, and, satisfied to boast that they had been within sight of 
the city, withdrew, and took up their line of march down the 
Peninsula. 

Unapprised of these dastardly events, Dahlgren, on the 



2-iO THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

night of the 1st of March, pursued his way towards Eichmond, 
following the "Westhara plank-road, with some seven or eight 
hundred horsemen. An exhibition of cowardice was reserved 
for him, unequalled even by that of Custer, or Kilpatrick. 

All that stood in the darkness of that night between Dahl- 
gren and Richmond, between the ferocious Yankee and the 
revenge he had plotted to pour in blood and fire upon the de- 
voted capital of the Confederacy, was a force of local soldiery, 
composed of artisans from the Kichmond Armory, and clerks, 
many of them young boys, from the departments of the gov- 
ernment. Such was the force that was to give to Dahlgren's 
" braves" a lesson for their temerity. 

The Armory battalion was on the enemy's flank, and ap- 
pears to have been surprised. But when the enemy came in 
contact with Henly's battalion (the clerks), the valorous cav- 
alry broke at the first fire. The first volley of musketry seems 
to have done all the disaster that occurred, and to have finished 
the business. Eleven of Dahlgren's Yankees were killed and 
thirty or forty wounded, while the rest scattered in shameful 
flight. 

After this disgraceful afi'air, Dahlgren seemed to be anxious 
only for his retreat. He divided his forces so as to increase 
the chances of escape. The force under his immediate com- 
mand moved down the South bank of the Pamunkey, and 
crossed the river at Dabney's Ferry. From the ferry they pro- 
ceeded by the most direct route to Ayletts on the Mattapony, 
watched closely at every step b}'^ scouts detached from Lieu- 
tenant James Pollard's company of Lee's Rangers, then on 
picket duty and recruiting service in King William County, 
the residence of most of it members. Pollard, himself, while 
passing through the streets of Richmond, had chanced to see at 
a newspaper office a bulletin giving some account of the retreat 
of Dahlgren's party, and declaring that he would make them 
"pay toll" on their route, had posted to intercept the 
fugitives. 

The ferry-boat on the Mattapony having been previously re- 
moved, and Pollard's arrangements for disputing the passage 
of the Yankees when they reached the King and Queen 
side being suspected, they dashed across the river as precip- 
itately as possible under the tire of a small squad of rangers. 



THE TIIIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 241 

The Yimlcees had no sooner readied King and Queen 
County than they were harassed, both front and rear, by the 
Rangers, showing fight as tliey advanced, until Pollard was 
reinforced by Captain Fox of the Fifth Virginia Cavalry and 
some of his men then on furlough in the county, some mem- 
bers of Lieutenant-colonel Robins' cavalry, and a few home 
guards. 

While Dahlgren, M'ith liis party of fugitives constantly slip- 
ping from him by straggling, and with sinking spirits, pursued 
the road to Walkerton, the improvised force of Confederates 
kept pressing him, while a detachment, making a rapid circuit, 
got ahead of him, and awaited his approach in the darkness 
of the night. Seeing some figures ahead on the road, Dahl- 
gi en. rode towards them, requiring for his protection that 
Captain Dement, the prisoner he had taken at Frederick Hall, 
should ride by his side. " Surrender," he shouted, to what he 
supposed was a few skulkers, who would instantly accede to 
the command. " Fire," was the reply. " Give 'em hell, boys," 
yelled Pollard ; and the woods were lighted up with a volley 
from Confederate muskets. It was enough. Dahlgren fell 
dead from his horse, two bullets in the head, two in the body, 
and one in the hand. Captain Dement's horse was shot under 
him. The woods were filled with fugitive Yankees, who had 
fled at the first volley, and who might be heard in the dark- 
ness of the night imploring the Confederates to have the kind- 
ness to come up and accept their surrender. The remnant of 
Dahlgren's party captured here in the night was one hundred 
and forty negroes and Yankees. 

On the body of their leader were found the remarkable doc- 
uments to which we have referred : papers showing the fiend- 
ish purpose of his expectation, and revealing to the startled 
sensibilities of the people of Richmond, the horrors which tliey 
luid narrowly escaped. 

The following address to the officers and men of the com- 
mand was written on a sheet of paper having in printed letters 
on the upper corner, " Headquarters Third Division, Cavalry 
Corps, , 1864 :" 

Officers and Men : 

You have been selected from brigades and regiments as a picked command 
to attempt a desperate undertaking — an undertaking which, if successful, will 

16 



242 Till'; TlllKl) YKAR OF TIIK WAR. 

•write your names on the hearts of your countrymen in letters that can never 
bo erased, and which will cause the prayers of our fellow soldiers now confined 
in loatlisome prisons to follow you and yours wherever you may go. 

We hope to release the prisoners from Belle Island first, and liaving seen 
them fairly started we will cross the James river into Richmond, destroying 
the bridges after us, and exhorting the released prisoners to destroy and hum 
the hateful city, and do not allow the rebel leader Dams, and his traitorous r.reio 
to escape. The prisoners must render great assistance, as you cannot leave 
your ranks too far, or become too much scattc^red, or you will be lost. 

Do not allow any personal gain to lead you off, which would only bring you 
to an ignominious death at tin- hands of citizens. Keep well together and 
obey orders strictly, and all will be well, but on no account scatter too far ; for 
in union there is strength. 

With strict obedience to orders, and fearlessness in the execution, you will bo 
Bure to succeed. 

We will join the main force on the other side of the city, or perhaps meet 
them inside. 

Many of you may fall ; but if there is any man here not willing to sacrifice 
his life in such a great and glorious undertaking, or who does not feel capable 
of meeting the enemy in such a desperate fight as will follow, let him step out, 
and he may go hence to the arms of his sweetheart, and read of the braves who 
swept through the city of Richmond. 

We want no man who cannot feel sure of success in such a holy cause. 

We will have a desperate fight ; but stand up to it when it does come, and 
all will be well. 

Ask the blessing of the Almighty, and do not fear the enemy. 

U. Dahlgken, Colonel Commanding. 

The following special orders were written on a similar sheet 
of paper, and on detached slips, the whole disclosing the dia- 
bolical plans of the leaders of the expedition : 

" Guides— Pioneers (with oakum, turpentine, and torpedoes) — Signal Officer 
— Quartermaster — Commissary : 

" Scouts and pickets — men in rebel uniform : 

" These will remain on the north bank and move down with the for«e on the 
south bank, not getting ahead of them ; and if the communication can be kept 
up without giving alarm, it must bo done ; but everything depends upon a 
surprise, and no one must be allowed to pass ahead of the column. Informa- 
tion must be gathered in regard to the crossings of the river, so that should 
.ve be repulsed on the south side we will know where to recross at the nearest 
point. All vdlls must be burned, and the canal destroyed; and also every thing 
which can b(^ used by the rebels must be destroyed, including the boats on the 
river. Should a ferry-boat be seized, and can be worked, have it moved down. 
Keep the force on the south side posted of any important movement of the 
enemy, and, in case of danger, some of the scouts must swim the river and 
bring us information. As we approach the city, the party must take great care 
that they do not get ahead of the other party on the south side, and must con- 
ceal themselves and watch our movements. We will try and secure the bridge 



Tin; Tiiiun ykar or the war. 243 

to the city (one mile below Belle Isle), and release the prisoners at the same 
time. If we do not succeed, they must then dash down, and wc will try and 
carry the bridge from each side. 

" When necessary, the men must be filed through the woods and along the 
river bank. The bridges once secured, and the prisoners loose and over the 
river, the bridges will be secured and the city destroyed. The men must keep 
together and well in hand, and once in the city, it must be destroyed, and 
Je^lt' Diivis and Cabinet killed. 

" Pioneers will go along with combustible material. The ofiBcer must use 
his discretion about the time of assisting us. Horses and cattle, which we do 
not neiul immediately, must be shot rather than left. Every thing on the canal 
and elscnvhere, of service to the rebels, must be destroyed. As General ('uster 
may follow me, be careful not to give a false alarm. 

" The signal-otficer must bo prepared to communicate at night by rockets, 
and in other things pertaining to his dei)artment. 

" The Quart(!rmaster8 and Commissaries must be on the lookout for their de- 
partm(;nts, and see tliat there are no delays on their account. 

" The engineer officer will follow to survey the road as we pass over it, &c. 

" The pioneers must be prepared to construct a bridge or destroy one. They 
must have plenty of oakum and turpentine for burning, which will be rolled in 
soaked bulls and giv('n to the men to burn when we get in the city. Torpe- 
does will only be used by the pioneers for destroying the main bridges, &c. 
They must be prepared to destroy railroads. Men vdll branch off to the right 
with a few pioneers and destroy the bridges and railroads south of Richmond, 
and then join us at the city. They must be well i)repared with torpedoes, &c. 
The line of Falling Creek is probably the best to work along, or, as th«?y ai> 
proach the city, Goode's Creek ; so that no reinforcements can come uj) on any 
cars. No one must be allowed to pass ahead, for fear of communicating news. 
Rejoin the command with all haste, and, if cut ofl", cross the river above Rich- 
mond and rtyoin us. Men will stop at Bellona Arsenal and totally destroy it, 
and anything else but ho8i)ital8 ; then follow on and rejoin the command at 
Richmond with all haste, and, if cut off, cross the river and rejoin us. As 
General Custer may follow me, be careful and not give a false alarm." 

The exhibition of these papers, disclosing a Yankee plot of 
incendiarism and murder that challenged comparison with the 
atrocities of the darkest ages, produced a profound sensation in 
Richmond. Our people, although already familiar with out- 
rages of the enemy, were scarcely prepared to imagine such 
extremity of excess ; while these bloody papers were to the 
world an important evidence of the spirit of Yankee warfare.* 



* Yankee newspapers, with persistent hardihood, disputed the authenticity 
of these papers. The writer, whose; relative was engaged in the affair, and who 
himself was familiar with all the incidi^nts relating to these papers, may assert 
most positively that there is not a shadow of ground to question their autheii 
ticity. He saw the originals. In half an hour after they were fuimd on Dahl 



214 THE TIIIED YEAR OF THE WAR. 

It is partly amusing to notice that flimsy and flippant hypo- 
crisy which, in Yankee newspapers, declared that Dahlgren, 
who had come on such an errand, when killed in a fight with 
our troops was " assassinated," or which, through the oflices of 
an alliterative strong-minded woman, the peculiar creature of 
Yankeedom — one " Grace Greenwood" — apotheosized, through 
public lectures to Y^ankee soldiers, one of the worst of their 
kind, and proclaimed him as " the young hero of the North." 
The dramatic account of the stripping of the body of the 
marauder, and the cutting off" the joint of a finger to get from 
it a diamond ring, is, however revolting to a tender humanity, 
nothing but an ordinary circumstance in a war where both 
sides have admitted what is indeed a deplorable practice — that 
oi '■'' peeling''^ on the battle-field. 

But there were some acts of the Confederate authorities in. 
relation to the Dahlgren afifair, which deserved a severe cen- 
sure, and which were wholly indefensible. Many persons in 
the Confederacy very justly thought that Dahlgren's raiders 
were not entitled to the privileges of prisoners of war, but 
should be turned over to the State authorities as thieves, incen- 
diaries, and felons in all respects. The Confederate authorities, 
from motives which could only have been fear of the enemy's 
displeasure, declined to accede to this demand. But popular 
clamor was to be appeased ; and to do so the old game of 
" retaliation" was to be played, and its plain demands put oflT 
by melodramatic expedients honorable to tell, but in reality 
amounting to nothing. 



gren's body they were placed in the hands of General FitzHugh Lee ; and the 
soiled folds of the paper were then plainly visible. The words referring to the 
murder of the President and his cabinet were not interlined, but were in the 
regular context of the manuscript. The proof of the authenticity of the papers 
is clinched by the circumstance that there was also found on Dahlgren's body 
a private note-book, whii-h contained a rough draft of the address to his soldiers, 
and repetitions of some of the memoranda copied above. The writer has care- 
fully examined thi^s notebook — a common memorandum pocket-book, such as 
might be bought in New York for fifty cents — in which arc various notes, 
some in ink and some in pencil ; the sketch of the address is in pencil, very im- 
perfect, written as one who labored in composition, crossed and recrossed. It 
does not ditter mati'i-ially in context or language from the more precise com- 
po.sition, excei)t that the injunction to murder the Confederate leaders is in the 
rough draft made with this additional emphasis, " killed on the tipot." 



THE THIRD YEAE OF TUE WAR. 24:5 

Dalilgren's body was buried out of sight, with the puerile 
mystery of a concealed grave. The Libby Prison was under- 
mined, several tons of powder put under it, and the threat 
made that if any demonstration on Richmond, such as Dahl- 
gren's, was ever again to occur, the awful crime, the appaling 
barbarity would be committed of blowing into eternity the 
hundreds of helpless men confined in a Confederate prison. 
No one can believe that such an atrocity was ever intended, 
under any circumstances, to be executed by the Confederacy, 
or that it was any thing more than the melodrama by which 
our weak authorities had been accustomed to avoid the real 
and substantial issues of " retaliation." This was not the first 
instance in which the Confederacy had needlessly blackened 
its reputation by exaggerated pretences of retaliation, which 
it was thought necessary to make very ferocious in their con- 
ception, in proportion as they were to be failures in execution. 



246 THE TIIIKD YEAK OF THE WAK. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Current of Confederate Victories. — The Red River Expedition. — Banks' Am- 
bitious Designs. — Condition of tlie Confederates \\^est of the Mississippi. — Banks' 
Extensive Preparations. — A Gala Day at Vicksburg. — Yankee Capture of Fort De 
Kus.=!y. — Occupation of Alexandria. — Porter's Warfare and Pillage. — Banks' Con- 
tinued Advance.— Shreveport, the Grand Objective Point. — Kirby Smith's Designs. — 
General Green's Cavalry Fight. — Battle of Mansfield. — Success of the Confeder- 
ates.— Battle OF Pleasant Hill. — The Heroic and Devoted Charge of the Confeder- 
ates. — The Scene on the Hill.— Banks Fatally Defeated. — Price's Capture of Yankee 
Trains. — Grand Results of Kirby Smith's Campaign. — Banks in Disgrace. — Yankee 
Tenure of Louisiana. — Forrest's Expedition into Kentucky. — His Gallant Assault 
on Fort Pillow. — Tiie Yankee Story of " Massacre." — Capture of Union City. — Con- 
federate Occupation of Paducah. — Chastisement of the Yankees on their own Theatre 
of Outrages — Capture of Plymouth, N. C. — General Hoke's Expedition. — Capture 
of "Fort Wessel." — Exploit of the " Albemarle." — The Assaults upon the Town. — 
Fruits of its Capture. — The Y'ankees in North Carolina. 

The current of victory for the Confederacy was still to en- 
large. The spring campaign of General Kirby Smith in the 
Trans-Mississippi was to terminate for us in one of the most 
decisive and fruitful successes of the war. On account of the 
remoteness of the theatre of action and its very imperfect com- 
munications with Richmond, we have now at hand but scant ma- 
terials for composing the history of these events, which termi- 
nated in the overwhelming defeat of Banks, and the complete 
demolition of his extensive schemes in Western Louisiana 
and Texas. 



THE RED RIVER EXPEDITION. 

To understand the importance of Banks' great expedition 
np the Red River, it is necessary to review the military situa- 
tion in the beginning of March. Sherman had returned to 
Vicksburg from his grand but disappointed expedition into 
Mississippi, and instead of directing his forces towards Mobile, 
the point of the greatest concern to the Confederates, he 



THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAR. 217 

detached a portion of them to General Banks' assistance, wlio, 
it appears, had predetermined on scattering or demolishing the 
Confederate force in West Louisiana, operating against Texas, 
and opening to Yankee spoliation and theft one of the richest 
cotton regions of the South. A very general impression, 
existed in the North that the Confederate cause west of the 
Mississippi was particularly liopeless. General Steele had cap- 
tured Little Kock, and was thought to have control of almost 
the entire country north of the Ked river. General Banks had 
captured Brownsville, and occupied several points on the 
Texas coast, with Yankee forces. The discouragement of the 
Confederate leaders was said to be so complete that the story 
found believers among the Yankees that Kirby Smith had 
determined to pay off his army, furlough his men for an indefi- 
nite period, and then retire with his principal officers into 
Mexico. 

The preparations of Banks, however, showed that he either 
contemplated a much greater resistance than what vulgar 
opinion in the North anticipated, or that he wals determined to 
insure success by that exaggeration of means which timidity 
always suggests. Tlie expedition had been the occasion of a 
complete change in his plan of military operations in the 
Department of the Gulf. Altogether, it was the most import- 
ant military enterprise ever attempted west of the Mississippi, 
and the largest army ever assembled in that section (amount- 
ing, besides the fleet, to at least forty thousand men), was 
entrusted with its execution. 

About the 1st of March the columns under General Franklin 
proceeded from New Orleans to Brashear City, and thence 
took up the line of march along the Bayou Teche. The forces 
nnder General A. J. Smith, from tlie Department of Tennessee, 
comprising the brigades under Generals F. S. Smith, Thomas, 
and Ellet, embarked at Vicksburg on the 10th of March, and 
proceeded down to the mouth of Red river, where they 
found a fleet of twenty gunboats ready for the ascent. The 
twenty transports, preceded by the twenty gunboats, started 
from the Mississippi on the 10th. As for the naval force of 
the expedition, a Northern paper stated that a more formida- 
ble fleet was never under a single command than that now on 
the western rivers under Admiral Porter. 



-48 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Tlie davof the embarkation at Yieksburo; was a srala one 
for the Yankees. " The scene on the Mississippi river, oppo- 
site Yieksburg," says a Yankee correspondent, " was sublime. 
From the deck of tliis steamer, the flagship of the expedition, 
went up the long, shrill whistle, the signal for our departure, 
which was instantly answered by the immense fleet, each 
steamer's whistle screaming a reply, 'AH ready,' in notes 
ranging from C sharp to B flat. In Ave minutes the gigantic 
flotilla was in motion, the variegated lights swinging to and 
fro from the mastheads, while the crowded decks glistened 
with loyal bayonets, and the cabin windows reflected a brilliant 
light upon the rushing waters. Add to this picture the lively 
music of several brass bands, the cheering of the soldiers, eager 
for the approaching conflict, and their simple shelter-tents 
spread in miniature encampments on the upper decks of the 
steamers, while from the monster black chimneys the sparks 
fell in golden showers over the whole scene, and perhaps a 
slight idea will be conveyed of the romantic beauty of this rare 
war spectacle." 

The imposing expedition proceeded up the Red river Muth- 
out serious opposition ; and its first achievement was the cap- 
ture, on the 14th of March, of Fort De Russy. The fort was 
easily taken b}' General Smith's advance, as it was garrisoned 
by only two or three companies of Confederates. Had it been 
fully manned it would have been a difficult point to capture. 
The fort was intended for a large force. It consisted of a verj' 
strong water-battery, mounting four guns, and a bomb-proof 
battery of three guns, only two of which were really mounted. 
Both these batteries fully commanded the approaches, and 
were connected with a strong fort, about a quarter of a mile to 
the rear, by a causeway, protected by high breastworks, thus 
enabling the men to pass from the battery to the fort in action 
with comparative safety. The bomb-proof was covered with 
two feet of solid timber and two layers of railroad iron of the 
T style, fitted into each other. 

Porter's gunboats were not engaged ; and the garrison of 
the fort missed the coveted opportunity of testing the power of 
their superb water-battery. The Yankees took here two hun- 
dred and eighty-three prisoners and several heavy guns. 
Among the prisoners taken was Lieutenant-colonel Byrd, for- 



THE THIIiD YEAR OF THE WAR. 2 i9 

mei-ly in command of the fort. lie was put in double-irons, 
and sent to the penitentiary at Baton Kouge ! 

Fort De Eussy having fallen, Porter had no difficulty in 
steaming up to Alexandria, a place of about fifteen hundred 
inhabitants, and the county-seat of Rapides parish. It was sit- 
uated on the Red river, about one hundred and fifty miles 
above its confluence with the Mississippi. The advance of 
General A. J. Smith's forces in transports, and Admiral 
Porter's fleet of iron-clad gunboats, anchored before the red- 
clay bluff's of Alexandria on the evening of the 16th March. 

The Yankees had now penetrated the famous cotton district 
of the Red river ; and Porter, who had already obtained in 
the South the nnen viable title of " the Tliief of the Missis- 
sippi," took the initiative in a system of pillage that might 
iiave disgraced the most ruthless and ferocious banditti. 
Many of the planters applied the torch to their cotton rather 
than it should fall into the hands of the rapacious enemy. 
Porter reported to his Government that upwards of four thou- 
sand bales of cotton had been confiscated and rescued by his 
gunboats : a boastful estimate, much above the truth. If 
cotton could not be found, the Yankees had no liesitation in 
making prizes of other property ; and when disappointed of 
plunder, they could at least give vent to their feelings in a 
spirit of destruction and wanton ferocity, 

Alexandria was occupied without resistance; and from that 
point Smith continued his advance towards Shreveport, one 
hundred and leventy miles higher up Red river. In the 
meantime, Franklin was making his way with all haste across 
the country via Franklin, New Iberia, and Opelousas, with 
the intention of joining Smith at Alexandria ; but he arrived 
at that place too late for the purpose. Smith's forces had 
already gone up the river, and, therefore, in order to consum- 
mate the junction, it was necessary for Franklin to move 
towards Shreveport over land. The Yankee army, now under 
command of General Banks, passed Grand Ecore, sixty miles 
from Alexandria, the fleet having, meanwhile, got within one 
hundred miles of Shreveport. 

This latter place, on the Louisiana boundary, appears to 
have been the grand objective point of Banks' campaign. The 
Trans-Mississippi district might be considered as having its 



250 THE THIED TEAR OF THE WAR. 

centre of supplies and resources at Shreveport, and it was an 
obvious base of operations against Texas. Appreciating its 
importance, and Avitli a view of sustaining and uniting with 
Price, who was falling back in Arkansas, General Kirby 
Smith, in command of the Confederates, in giving up Fort De 
Eussj and the adjoining country had resolved to make a stand 
to cover Shreveport, and had merelj'^ designed to draw Banks 
to a decisive point of the campaign. 

On the 7th of April, Banks encountered a body of Confed- 
erate cavalry, under General Green, about two miles beyond 
Pleasant Hill. A desultory fight ensued, in which Green's 
cavalry, lighting in the strips of woods along the road, severely 
harassed the Yankees. The appearance of this force had 
probably taken Banks by surprise. He despatched a conrier 
to Franklin urging him to " hasten up," and announcing that 
he was " surrounded by rebel cavalry." 



BATTLE OF MANSFIELD. 

Four miles from the town of Mansfield, on the 8th of April, 
General Banks found himself encountered by a considerable 
Confederate army, composed of forces under Kirby Smith, 
Dick Taylor, Mouton, Green, and some of Price's men. The 
Yankee cavalry were cautiously advancing, when the Confed- 
erates suddenly assailed the enemy's front ki strong force. 
The contest continued fiercely for several Iwurs, wJien the 
Yankees were driven back with great loss, and both wings of 
Banks' army flanked. A retreat appeared to be inevitable, 
should the Confederates continue to assault the enemy's front. 
The Yankee artillery played furiously upon the Confederate 
lines. But they continued to advance boldly, onr devoted 
men evincing a desperate determination to conquer or perish 
in the attempt. An order of retreat was at last given by 
Banks. But the retreating force found the road blocked up 
by their trains, which had got into confusion. The retreat 
soon became a route and a panic ensued. The Confederates 
pushed on in pursuit, capturing eighteen guns, all of General 
Lee's wagon trains, and driving the panic-stricken mass of 
fuiritive Yankees for ten miles to Pleasant Hill. Here 




LT. GEN. KIRBY SMITH. 



SigrapTBcL for "tke ThircLYeaT of the War. 



THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 251 

Franklin, who had at last come up, opened his line of battle 
and allowed the latter to pass. The Yankees reported their 
loss about fifteen hundred killed, wounded, and missing. 
Ainong the Confederates, General Mouton had fallen in the 
action, his body pierced by four balls. 



BATTLE OF PLEASANT HILL. 

The next day Banks had his forces well in hand ; during the 
night General A. J. Smith having arrived with fresh troops. 
The place he had selected for a decisive battle was a large open 
field, once cultivated, but now overgrown with trees and 
bushes. In the centre of the field was a slight elevation, from 
which the name. Pleasant Hill, was taken ; and a semicircular 
belt of timber ran around the field on the Shreveport side. 

The engagement of the two armies was scarcely more than 
skirmishing until about five o'clock in the afternoon. One of 
the most thrilling scenes of mortal contest was now to take 
place. The Confederates reached the open ground and moved 
on to the attack in three lines of battle. The Yankee batteries 
and infantry opened with terrible efifect, making great slaugh- 
ter with grape and canister, while the Confederate artillery, 
being in the woods and in bad position, did scarcel}'' any dam- 
age. The fighting was terrific. The Confederates pressed 
furiously on. The Yankees were pushed back, Taylor's bat- 
tery taken, and the enemy's line pushed up the hill. As the 
second line of Confederates appeared on the crest of the hill, 
the death-signal was sounded, and from the long line of can- 
non and crouching forms of men there leaped a terrible and 
destroying fire. Thousands of rifles blazed away, and cannon 
loaded nearly to the muzzles belched forth destruction. Find- 
ing it impossible to force the enemy further, the Confederates 
fought their way slowly and steadily back to their original 
line. The enemy could not be rallied after such proof of 
valor. In vain General Smith ordered a charge. Night was 
near at hand, and the engagement dwindled into desultory 
skirmishing. 

The loss of the enemy in this engagement is not exactly 
known, though probably much greater than he reported — ^two 



252 THE THIRD YEAR OF TH^ WAE. 

thousand. After the battle Banks fell back to the hne of the 
JRed River, and took position at Grand Ecore, near Nachitoches, 
Thus ended the fearful and bloody struggle for the control of 
Western Louisiana, and the important destinies it involved. 

Some days later there was an exchange of fire between 
Porter's gunboats and a force of Confederate mounted infantry 
about twenty-five miles above Grand Ecore, in which, un- 
happily, the brave General Green was killed by the fragment 
of a shell. 

The Yankees made various pretences to conceal the extent 
of their disaster. It was declared that the redoubtable Banks 
had only fallen back for " rest and rations," and that Steele 
was pushing forward from Arkansas with fifteen thousand 
men. The fact was that the latter commander had left Little 
Rock with twelve thousand infantry, and three thousand cav- 
alry; but Price, whom he imagined he was driving helplessly 
before him, had turned at Camden, and captured all his trains. 
The Yankee version of this event was that Steele had hroken 
through Price's lines and got back to Little Rock to save it 
from Marmaduke who was advancing upon it. 

The results of the campaign of Kirby Smith were for us the 
most substantial ever achieved in the Trans-Mississippi. The 
expedition of Banks had proved a failure, and nothing was left 
for him but to retreat to Alexandria, after losing several thou- 
sand prisoners, and thirty-five pieces of artillery. The expedi- 
tion of Steele into Western Arkansas had, as we have seen, 
ended in a complete disaster. The immediate points of our 
victories, as summed up in the ofiicial report of General Kirby 
Smith, were eight thousand killed and wounded, six thousand 
prisoners, thirty-five pieces of artillery, twelve hundred wagons, 
one gunboat, and three transports. These wagons comprised 
the whole of Steele's train, which had been captured in Arkan- 
sas. It was supposed, at one time, that the portion of Por- 
ter's fleet, above the falls at Alexandria, would have to be 
abandoned ; but they were released from their unpleasant 
position by building a tree-dam of six hundred feet across the 
river at the lower falls, which enabled all the vessels to pass — 
the back-water of the Mississippi reaching Alexandria, and 
enabled the vessels to pass over all the shoals and the obstruc- 
tions planted by the Confederates, to a point of safety. 



THE THIRD YEAR OF TriE WAR. 253 

It was late in tlie month of May, when Banks arrived at 
New Orleans, Avith the remnants of his army. In moving 
across the country, during his retreat from Alexandria, he left 
the Red River at Fort De Rnssy, and struck for Semmesport, 
where he crossed the Atchafalaya, and then marched to Mor- 
ganza, on the Mississippi. The complete failure of the expe- 
dition was beyond disguise, and was the topic of severe criti- 
cism in the North. Althongh Banks was still permitted to 
remain in command of his department, as were Rosecrans and 
Steele, he was placed under the order of General Can by, whose 
first business was to resupply the troops brought back by Gen- 
eral Steele and General Banks from the disastrous campaign 
of the Red River, and to reorganize from these disjected mate- 
rials the army of the Trans-Mississippi. 

Banks' splendid empire west of the Mississippi was now 
practically reduced to the tenure of New Orleans, the banks of 
the river, and a strip of coast. " If," said a " loyal" observer, 
at New Orleans, "onr friends at the North choose to amuse 
themselves with the idea that Louisiana is reclaimed, and again 
loyal, we ought not to complain of so cheap an entertainment. 
In truth, under the mild sway of Governor Hahn, M'ho was 
elected by several thousand majority, there is just so mnch of 
Lonisiana in the Union as is covered by our pickets. Outside 
of New Orleans, no Union officer or citizen can ride alone in 
safety two miles from the Mississippi, except where our organ- 
ized soldiery move." 

Banks had stripped the coast and frontier for his expedition 
towards Shreveport. He had played a heavy stake in his 
campaign, and he had plainly and irrevocably lost it. 



FORKEST S EXPEDITION INTO KENTUCKY. 

On the other side of the Mississippi we left Forrest, the fa- 
mous cavalry chief of the West, driving back the Yankee 
cavalry that had threatened to descend tlirough Northern Mis- 
sissippi with fire and sword. The unwearied Confederate was 
on the war path again. 

By long and rapid inarches, Forrest and his men f<uind them- 
selves, in the month of April, on the waters of the Ohio, sweep- 



254 THE TIIIRU YEAR OF THE WAR. 

ing the enemy before them, wherever they could meet the Yan- 
kees, capturing hundreds of prisoners, and vahiable and needed 
stores in the quartermaster and ordnance departments. 

On the 12th of April, at Fort Pillow, near Columbus, Ken- 
tucky, our brave men, in the face of a murderous fire from two 
Yankee gunboats and six pieces of artillery, stormed the works, 
and killed or captured the entire garrison, a motley herd of 
negroes, traitors, and Yankees. 

The attack was made with a part of Bell's and .McCullogh's 
brigades, under Brigadier-general J. R. Chalmers. After a 
short fight, w^e drove the enemy, seven hundred strong, into 
the fort under cover of their gunboats, and demanded a surren- 
der, which was denied by Major L. W. Booth, commanding 
the Yankee forces. General Forrest then stormed the fort, and 
after a contest of thirty minutes captured the entire garrison, 
killing five hundred, and taking one hundred horses and a large 
amount of quartermaster's stores. The officers in the fort were 
all killed, including Major Booth. General Forrest sustained 
a loss of twenty killed and sixty wounded. Over one hundred 
citizens, who had fled to the fort from conscription, ran into 
the river and were drowned. 

Yankee newspapers entitled this aifair " the Fort Pillow 
Massacre." There is no doubt that, for some moments, the 
Confederate officers lost control of their men, who were mad- 
dened by the sight of negro troops opposing them. It is to be 
remarked, too, that the Yankees and negroes in Fort Pillow 
aeglected to haul down their flag. In truth, relying upon their 
gunboats, the Yankee officers expected to annihilate our forces 
after we had entered the fortifications. They did not intend to 
surrender. 

At the first fire, after Forrest's men scaled the walls, many 
of the negroes threw down their arms, and fell as if they were 
dead. They perished in the pretence, or could only be re- 
stored at the point of the bayonet. To resuscitate some of 
them, more terrified than the rest, they were rolled into the 
trenches made as receptacles for the fjillen. This is the extent 
of the Yankee story of " burying negroes alive." j 

The fall of Fort Pillow was soon followed by the news of the 
surrender of Union City, and five hundred and fifty "tories," 
to a force under command of Colonel Falker, of Kentucky. In 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 255 

the meantime, Forrest had pressed rapidly to Paducah, wliicli 
place was reached about ten o'clock in the morning of the 
25th of April. 

The Yankee force here was two thousand infantry, one negro 
regiment and two gunboats of large size, carrying heavy siege 
pieces and rifled six pounders. Two siege pieces were mounted 
at the fort, and a battery of light artillery inside. The attack 
began at once, not, however, with the object of ca])turing or 
routing the enemy here ; for it was well known that he would 
take shelter behind his fortifications, which were strong and 
made impregnable by abattis, ditches and spikes ; but for the 
purpose of getting possession of the town, and capturing or de- 
stroying the immense quantities of commissary, quartermaster, 
ordnance and medical supplies. The enemy was immediately 
driven into and beyond the town, behind his fortifications, 
where he was kept until night, while the Confederates were 
capturing or destroying his stores. 

Our forces retiring at nightfall, the enemy immediately set 
fire to two blocks of buildings behind which our men liad been 
fightinir, fearing that the attack would be renewed in the morn- 
in^o-. Nearly the whole town was thus burned to ashes, and 
great damage done to the remainder by shelling. 

The results of this expedition across the State of Kentucky 
were especially gratifying to the Confederacy, not only for its 
valuable results in captures, but for the well merited chastise- 
ment it had inflicted upon the enemy in a quarter where, with 
his convenient allies in wiiite "tories" and negro banditti, he 
had long practised with impunity the most infamous outrages. 
The Yankees liberally applied to this expedition the epithets 
of " assassination," " massacre," &c. ; but these were nothing 
more than their usnal terms for those Confederate successes 
under which they especially smarted. 

CAPTURE OF PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA. 

The detached military events of the latter part of the winter 
of 1863-64, and the ensuing spring— all of them successes for the 
Confederacy — were to be crowned with an important victory 
in North Carolina. 

After some hesitation by the Confederate authorities, Briga- 



256 THE THIKD TEAR OF THE WAK. 

dier-general lloke, a young and energetic North Carolinian, 
was permitted to organize and lead an expedition against Plj- 
mouth, on the south bank of the Roanoke, about one hundred 
and twenty-five miles below Weldon. 

Our forces consisted of liansom's and Hoke's North Carolina 
brigades, commanded by General Ransom and Colonel Mercer, 
of the Twenty-first Georgia ; Kemper's Virginia brigade, com- 
manded by Colonel Terry ; Colonel Dearing's regiment of 
cavalry, and seven batteries of field artillery, under Lieutenant- 
colonel Branch and Major Reid — General Iloke, as senior 
brigadier, commanding the entire force. 

For nearly twelve months the Yankees had been busy with 
pick and spade at Plymouth. They had thrown up a very 
heavy fortification in front, extending from the river to Conoby 
creek — a distance of a mile — with a deep ditch in front. At 
short intervals along this line were siege and field guns in em- 
brasure ; and in the centre was the " Williams Fort," mounting 
six very heavy siege and three field guns in batteries. This 
fort occupied a commanding elevation ; was exceedingly 
strong, with a deep ditch and impenetrable stockade surround- 
ing it, enclosed on all sides, and, in case of assault, was pro- 
tected with a heavy gate and drawbridge, thus closing the 
only entrance into the fort. Inside of this line were three 
other forts, mounting two to four siege gims in barbette, pro- 
tecting their left flank and rear. Immediately upon the river 
was one two-hundred-pound Parrott rifle in position. On the 
right flank, about six hundred yards in advance of the main 
line, was "Fort Wessell," similar to Fort Williams — not so 
large — and jnounting two guns. One mile higher up the river 
was " Fort Warren," of like construction, mounting one one- 
hundred-pound Parrott, and several other guns of heavy cali- 
bre, all commanding the river and any land attack. In addi- 
tion were four gunboats to co-operate with tliese forts. 

The force in the town and at Warren Neck consisted of the 
Sixteenth Connecticut, Eighty-fifth New York, One Hundred 
and First and One Hundred and Third Pennsylvania, two com- 
panies of Massachusetts heavy artillery, one battery of light artil- 
lery, and two squadrons of cavalry, the whole commanded by 
r>rigadier-gencral Wessell, of the old United States army. 

On the 17th of April, our forces were within two miles of 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE "WAR. 257 

Plymouth, having marched through swamps and across swollen 
creeks a distance of seventy-five miles without the knowledge 
of the enemy. Kemper's brigade, with a battery of twelve- 
pounder Napoleons and three twentj'^-pounder Parrotts, was de- 
tached to attack Warren Neck, a strong position on the river 
a mile above the town, which the enemy thought, and we 
feared, would effectually stop the passage of our " ram " — the 
Albemarle — and so deprive us of her valuable aid. 

About sunset, Bearing and Peid, with their rifle artillery, 
opened a brisk fire upon Fort Warren, at fifteen hundred 
yards, with marked effect, soon cutting down the garrison flag- 
staff'. The gunboats steamed up to the assistance of the fort. 
One was speedily sunk and another seriously damaged. 

Early the next morning, our artillery under Colonel Branch 
opened a heavy fire upon the enemy's works, which they vigor- 
ously responded to. That afternoon General Hoke determined 
to carry " Fort Wessell " with his and Kemper's brigades, and 
one battery under Major Peid ; he ordered Ransom, with his 
brigade, and Branch, witli fourteen pieces of artillery, to make 
a heavy demonstration simultaneously with his attack. 

Pansom's brigade, with the 8th North Carolina, was drawn 
up in the woods, facing the works on the Washington, Lee's 
Mill, and Bath roads. A heavy line of skirmishers was thrown 
out, and advancing rapidly with the peculiar gait of the sharp- 
shooters, and the yell with which Confederate troojDS go to the 
charge, drove the enemy back into his works, and approached 
within two hundred and fifty yards of the fort, earnestly de- 
manding to be led into the place. Meanwhile, Pegram's bat- 
tery dashed forward at a run, supported by the infantry, and 
unlimbering, delivered a furious fire upon the devoted place. 
Three times the infantry advanced, each time nearer, until 
within good charging distance ; but the artillery had it all to 
themselves. The movement was merely a demonstration to 
call off the enemy's attention from Hoke's attack upon Fort 
Wessel. 

The enemy being now fully engaged on the right. General 
Hoke made a vigorous attack upon Fort AVessell with artillery 
and infantry — the enemy opposing a spirited resistance. Our 
infantry again and again charged the fort, the enemy hurling 
at. them hand-grenades ; but the strong stockade, deep ditch, 

17 



2.jS the third year of the war. 

and liigli parapet prevented our men from scaling it. During 
one of tliese charges, the intrepid Colonel Mercer, command- 
ing Ilokc's brigade, fell mortally wounded at the head of his 
command. Finally, onr infantry snrrounded the fort, tlie ar- 
tillery advanced to within two hundred yards of it, and Colo- 
nel Dearing, in behalf of General Hoke, demanded a surrend- 
er of the phice, which was immediately complied with, and 
fifty-two prisoners marched to the rear. 

About two o'clock the next morning, onr iron-clad, the Al- 
bemarle, mounting two l^ruoke rifled guns, and commanded 
by Captain Cooke, ])assed easily over the obstructions from 
the liigli water, passed Fort Warren without eliciting a shot, 
our sharpshooters so closely investing the fort that the coward- 
ly cann(jniers would not man their guns. Steamingjust below 
Plymouth, she met the Miami, commanded by Flusser, and the 
Southfield, under French. They were side by side of each other, 
and connected by heavy iron cables, with the hope of entan- 
gling the Albemarle and running her ashore, or breaking her 
propeller, and then boarding her. Each of these boats candied 
eight guns of very heavy calibre, and were regarded equal to 
any in the waters of EasteiMi Carolina. The gallant Cooke 
headed directly for the Southfield, gave her the contents of his 
bow gun, and striking her forward with his prow, she imme- 
diately began to sink, and with such rapidity, that before the 
Albemarle could disengage herself she was well nigh carried 
down, water running in at her ports. This occasioning 
some delay, the Miami fled, but not until she was severely 
punished, her commander, Flusser, and many of her crew be- 
ing killed. 

Having obtained possession of Fort Wessell, General Hoke 
arranged his forces for an assault upon the town, sending Han- 
som on the right to make a demonstration or attack as he 
thought best, while Hoke, with his and Kemper's brigades, 
would attack on the left. 

At early dawn on the morning of the 28th, our infantry 
moved forward, and our artillery, consisting of Blount's, Mar- 
bhaH's, and Lee's batteries, under Colonel Branch, dashed for- 
ward at a full gallop into position, and opened immediately 
upon the town and forts at about twelve hundred yards. The 
enemy by this time had concentrated a most terrific fire from 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 259 

tlieir siege and field guns. Just at tliis time General Iloke 
opened, with his artillery, a very rapid and tremendous fire, 
and his infantry sent up yell after yell as if charging. Ransom 
caught the sound, and rising in his stirrups, from the head and 
right of the line, in a clear and ringing voice gave the com- 
mand, " Charge, boys, and the place is yours." 

In ten minutes the two outer forts, with eight guns, were 
captured, our infantry scaling their parapets, and the artillery 
within one hundred and fifty yards of the forts, horses and 
limbers blown up and cannoniers shot down, and yet those re- 
maining stood to their guns, without shelter, confident of vic- 
tory and to avenge their dead. The whole command, ofiicers 
and men, infantry and artillery, seemed enthused with the in- 
spiration of certain victory. Several hundred prisoners were 
* captured in these forts, which were immediately sent to the 
rear, and now began the contest for the town, more than half 
a mile in. length, the enemy's infantry slowly retiring, and 
stubbornly resisting our advance; Fort Williams dealing out 
grape and spherical case ; their field-pieces, at the further ex- 
tremities of the broad, straight streets, raking them with a 
murderous fire ; their infantry, in the houses and cellars, and 
behind fences, delivering galling charges of minies ; but all 
of no avail ; our men were aroused, confident, and irresistible. 
They pressed on steadily, without halt or hesitation, tearing 
down fences, hedges, and every obstacle that they met, cap- 
turing the enemy at every step. 

The town was ours. But still "Wessell, shut up in his strong- 
hold, Fort Williams, refused to yield. A heavy cannonade 
was opened upon the fort, and the garrison was galled by our 
sharpshooters. At last some of the Confederates, creeping for- 
ward through the intrenchments, got an enfilading fire upon 
them, wiiich soon brought them to terms, and hundreds of 
them rushed out of the " fort without arms and surrendered. 
Just at this time a shell burst directly on the magazine, and 
when the smoke cleared away, the hated fl^ag was fluttering 
rapidly down to the ground. 

The fruits of this capture were sixteen hundred prisoners, 
twenty-five pieces of artillery, vast quantities of commissary 
and quartermaster supplies, and immense ordnance stores. 
Our loss in killed and wounded was about three hundred. We 



^60 THE THIED YEAE OF THE WAE. 

had also destroyed two gunboats, and with all, had obtained 
the strong position of Plymouth, which protected the whole 
Hoanoke valley. 

The Yankees now held but two places on the North Carolina 
coast, AVashington, at the mouth of Tar river, and Newbern, 
at the mouth of the ISTeuse. The latter was strongly gar- / 
risoncd, but the larger part of the forces at Washington had y'^^'^ 
been moved up to Plymout hT", It was supposed that General 
Hoke would prosecute his campaign against Newbern ; but 
his forces were suddenly to be recalled to more imposing 
scenes, and to a participation in the great crisis of 1864 in 
Virginia. 



2fil 

THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAB. *^* 



CHAPTEK XIL 

Close of the Third Year of the War.-Sketch of the Subsequent Operations in Vir- 
ginia and Georgia.-GuANT's " ON-To-R.cHMoxD."-The Comb.nat.on Aga.ust the 
Confederate Capital.-THK Battlks of thk Wildehness.-A Thnlhng Cr.MS.-Grant 
on the Verge of Rout.-Hi. First Design Baffled.-TnE Battles of Spottsylvania 
CouRT-HocsK.-Death of General Sedgwiek.-THE Carnage of May the ISTH.-tive 
Battles in Six Davs.-Grant's Obstinacy.-" The Bateher."-Shendan . ixped.Uon. 
-Death of General "Jeb" Sti.art.-Butler's Operations on the South Side of the 
James -" The Beast" at the Back-Door of Richmond.-He is Driven to Bermuda 
Hundred by Beauregard.-Defeat of Sigel in the Valley.-Grant's Movement Down 
the Valley of the Rappahannock. -His Passage of the ?amunkey.-Re-organ.zation of 
General Lee's Lines.-Granl's Favorite Tactics.-Yankee Exultation at h.s Approach 
to Richmond-Caricatures of the Confederacy.-A Hasty Apotheosis -A True The- 
ory of Grant's " Flank Movement8."-His Occupation of McClellan's Old L.nes.-rHE 
Battle of the Chickahominy or Cold Harbor.-A Confederate Victory m Ten 
Minutes -What Had Become of Yankee Exultation.-Review of the Rival Routes to 
Richmond -Grant Crosses the James River.-His Second Grand Combination Against 
Richmond.-Hunter's Capture of Staunton.-THE Battles of PETERSRCRO.-General 
Wise's Heroic Address.-Engagement of 16th June.-Grand Assault of 18lh June.~ 
on " the Cockade City/'-ADecisive defeat of the Yankees.-Engagement at Port 
Walthal Junction-Sheridan's Defeat Near Gordonsville.- Hunter s Repulse at 
Lynchburg -Two Affairs on the Weldon Railroad.-Grant's Second Combination a 
Complete Failure.-Discouragement of the North.-The Gold Barometer.-Secretary 
Chase's Deelaration.-SHivBMAN's " 0.N--T0-ATLANTA."-Hi3 Flanking Movement.- 
En-agement in Resaca Valley.-Johnston's Retreat -Engagement at New Hope.- 
Johnston's Telegram to Richmond.-Defeat of Sturgis's Expedition in Mmsissippi - 
Battle of Kenesaw MouNTAiN.-Sherman's Successful Strategy.-The Confederates 
Fall Back to Atlanta.-THE Battles OF ATLANTA.-Hood's Gallant Defence.- . . . , 
The Military Situation in July, 1864.-Grant's Failure.-His Consumption of Troops. 
-Review of Yankee Atrocities in the Summer Campaign of 1864.-Sherman » Char- 
acter.-His Letter on " Wild Beasts."-His War on Factory Girl.s.-buflermgs of 
Confederate Women and Children.-Ravages in ^eorgia.-Hunter 8 Vandalism m 
Virginia.-" The Avengers of Fort Pillow."-Sturgis and his Demons.-The Spirit of 
the Confederates.- . . . Some Words on » Peace Negotiations.''-A Piratical Prop- 
osition and an Infamous Bribe.-The Heroic Choice of the Confederates. 

The third year of the war closes properly at the month of 
May, according to our arrangement of dates in preceding vol- 
umes. But on account of the magnitude of what is closely 
subsequent, it is thought advisable to give a summary and very 
general sketch of the material events of the enemy's two grand 
campaigns of the summer of 1S64:— the parallel operations of 
Grant and Sherman in Virginia and in Georgia ;— at least, so 



262 TIIK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

far as to bring the reader to a stand-point of intelligent obser- 
vation, with reference to questions of peace and negotiation 
wliicli were agitating the ])ublic mind at the time tliese pages 
were committed to the press. We sliall follow their campaigns 
only to what appear to be their decisive stages in June and 
July. The period we shall thus rapidly traverse we hope to 
go over in another volume with a more perspicuous narrative, 
and certainly with much more abundant detail. 



GRANT 8 *' ON-TO-RICHMOND. 

General Ulysses S. Grant was now to answer tlie eager ex- 
pectation of the public by a campaign of unrivalled importance 
in Virginia. lie had hitherto been known in the North as the 
great (icneral of the West, and the Yankee newspapers had 
entitled him the hero of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicks- 
burg. His elevation had been rapid. Four years ago the 
man who coinmanded all the armies of the North had been a 
tanner, and at the beginning of the war had been accidentally 
selected to lead a regiment of I'aw recruits. 

From the moment of receiving his commission as Lieutenant- 
General, Grant had transferred his personal presence to the 
Army of the Potomac, leaving Sherman as his vicegerent to 
carry out the Western campaign. Warren, Sedgwick, and 
Hancock, were made the corps commanders of this army, and 
Uurnsidc was given a separate army corps. Butler at Fortress 
Monroe was reinforced by the Tenth corps from Charleston 
under Gilmore, and the Eighteenth from the West, under 
" Baldy" Smith. To the infamous hero of New Orleans was 
allotted the task of cutting off the city of Richmond from its 
southern lines of communication ; while Sigel operating in the 
Shenandoah Valley was to cut the railroad which by way oi 
Gordonsville connected Lee's army with his principal base of 
supplies at Lynchburg. 

Thus were the preparations completed for the most momen- 
tous campaign in American history. On Wednesday, May 4, 
jiiHt eight weeks from the day Grant received his commis- 
sion, his two grand columns were ready to move — the one 



THE tiiihd tkar of the war. 263 

well in lumd on tlio north bank of the Rapidan, seventy miles 
north of liichmond, and the other at Fortress Monroe, one 
day's sail from Richmond on the James. 



THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS. 

At dawn on tiie 5th of May, the Army of the Potomac, 
closely succeeded by that of Burnside, had crossed the Ilapi- 
dan river ; the Second corps at Ely's, the Fifth and Sixth corps 
at Germania ford. Having crossed the river, the first demon- 
stration of the enemy was an attempt to turn the right flank 
of Lee's army, between the Orange Court-house pike and the 
river. The assault was sustained by Iletii and Wilcox's di- 
visions of the Confederate Army, during the entire day ; and 
that it was successfully sustained even the Northern accounts 
do not hesitate to admit. "No cheer of victory," says a Nor- 
thern correspondent," swelled through the Wilderness that 
night." 

During the day Hancock, Second corps, had come up, and 
the FederaJ forces were concentrated. On the morning of the 
6th their lines were consolidated and freshly p'ostcd ; the three 
corps sustaining their respective positions — Warren in the 
centre, Sedgwick on the right, and Hancock on the left. 

The attack was made by the Confederates; Hill and Long- 
street's corps attacking both of Hancock's flanks with such 
fury, that the whole line of command thus assaulted is broken 
in several places. The effort, however, of the Confederates to 
pierce the enemy's centre is stayed, the Yankees having secured 
their line of battle beiiind their entrenchments. 

But with the expiration of the day was to occur a thrilling 
and critical conjuncture. Just at dusk (the Confederates' fa- 
vorite hour of battle) a column of Lee's army attacked the 
enemy's left, captured Seymour and a large jjortion of his bri- 
gade, and excited a panic which put Grant's whole army on 
the verge of irretrievable rout. Unfortunately, the Confed- 
erates had no idea of the extent of their success, and could not 
imagine how fraiight with vital issue were those few moments 
of encounter. The Yankee supply trains were thought to be 
immediately threatened, and artillery was posted to bear upon 



264 THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 

the Confederate advance in that direction. But the Confed- 
erates did not press tlieir advantage. As it was, Generals 
Shaler and Seymour, with the greater pairt of their commands, 
were taken prisoners. 

Such had been the two days' battle of the Wilderness : a 
marked success for the Confederates, disputed by the Northern 
newspapers,' of course, but manifest in the face of the facts. 
The enemy confessed to a loss of twelve thousand. The im- 
mediate consequence of these engagements was, that Grant 
being clearly outgeneralled in his first design of reaching Lee's 
rear and compelling him to fight a battle with his communica- 
tions cut off, which would be decisive of the campaign, was 
forced to change his plans, and with it his position ; falling 
back to his entrenched line, between the Wilderness and Trigg's 
Mill, nearly coincident with the Brock road, leading from the 
Wilderness to Spottsylvania Court-house. 

On the 7th, with some desultory fighting, Grant continued 
his movement towards Fredericksburg, M'ith the evident view 
of attempting the Fredericksburg road to Richmond. It was 
in consequence of this change of front that General Lee took 
up a new line on the Po. It will amuse the candid reader to 
find how this movement w^as interpreted by the mendacious 
press of the North ; for, in the newspapers of New York and 
Boston it was entitled, in flaming capitals, " A Waterloo De- 
feat of the Confederates," " The Retreat of Lee to Richmond," 
&c. For a few days the North was vocal with exultation, and 
for the hundredth time it had the Rebellion " in a corner," to 
be conveniently strangled. But this imagination of easy 
conquest was to be dissipated as the many that had pre- 
ceded it. 



THE BATTLES OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURT-HOUSE. 

On the 8th of May two engagements were fought at Spott- 
sylvania Court-house, between Longstreet's corps, under An- 
derson (General Longstreet having been wounded in the battle 
of the 6th) and the Fifth corps, under Warren, supported by 
cavalry. The enemy was repulsed, with heavy loss, in both 
instances. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 265 

On the 9th, which was marked by some skirmishing, Gen- 
eral John Sedgwick, one of the most valuable corps command- 
ers in the Yankee army, was killed, probably by a stray bullet. 
He had just been bantering his men about dodging and duck- 
ing their heads at the whistle of Confederate bullets in the dis- 
tance. " Why," said he, " they couldn't hit an elephant at this 
distance." The next moment a ball entered his face, just 
below the left eye, and pierced his brain, causing instant 
death. 

On Thursday, the 12th of May, occurred what may be 
entitled as the great battle of Spottsylvania Court-house. 
The enemy had planned an attack on what was supposed to be 
a vital section of the Confederates, a salient angle of earth- 
works held by Johnson's division of Ewell's corps. The storm- 
ing column advanced silently, and without firing a shot, up to 
the angles of the breastworks, over which they rushed, taking 
the forces within in flank, surrounding them, capturing nearly 
the entire division of Johnson's, with its commander, and also 
a brigade or two of other troops. Brigadier-general George H. 
Stuart in command. 

But the surprise was only momentary. For long hours a 
battle raged over those intrenchments, the intense fury, hero- 
ism, and horror of which it is impossible to describe. From 
dawn to dusk the roar of guns was ceaseless ; a tempest of 
shell shrieked through the forest and ploughed the field. 
Ewell's corps held the critical angle with a courage that noth- 
ing could subdue. General Hill moved down from the right, 
joined Ewell, and threw his divisions into the struggle. Long- 
street came on from the extreme left of the Confederate line. 
Column after column of the enemy was hewn down, or 
repulsed and sent back like a broken wave. At all points the 
enemy was repulsed with enormous loss. The ground in front 
of the Confederate lines was piled with his slain. 

The sixth day of heavy fighting had been ended. "It 
would," says an intelligent critic of this period, " not be im- 
possible to match the results of any one day's battle with 
stories from the wirs of the old world ; but never, we should 
think, in the history of man were five such battles as these 
compressed into six days." Grant had been foiled ; but his 
obstinacy was apparently untouched, and the fierce and brutal 



2G6 THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAK. 

* 

consumption of human life, anotlier element of his generalship, 
and wliich had already obtained for him with his soldiers the 
soubriquet of " the butcher," was still to continue. lie tele- 
graphed to "Washington : " I propose to light it out on this 
line, if it takes' all sunnner." 

But we must turn for a few moments from this dominant 
field of action and interest to notice other movements, which 
were parts of Grant's combination, and of the great military 
drama in Virginia. 

While Grant was engaged on the Hapidan, a cavalry expe- 
dition of tiie enemy, commanded by General Sheridan, moved 
around Lee's right flank to the North Anna river; committed 
some damage at Beaver Dam ; moved thence to the South 
Anna and Ashland station, where the railroad was destroyed ; 
and finally found its way to the James at Turkey Island, 
where it joined the forces of Butler. The damage inflicted by 
this raid was not very considerable ; but it was the occasion of 
a severe fight, on the 10th May, at Yellow Tavern, on the road 
to Tlichmond, where Sheridan encountered a Confederate cav- 
alry force, in which engagement was lost the valuable life of 
General J. E. B. Stuart, the brilliant cavalry commander, who 
had so long made Virginia the theatre of his daring and chiv- 
alric exploits. 

The column of Butler, the important correspondent to 
Grant's movement, intended to operate against Bichmond on 
the south side, had raised the hopes of the North merely to 
dash them by a failure decisive in its character, and ridiculous 
in all its circumstances. On the 5tli of May, Butler proceeded 
with his fleet of gunboats and transports, and the Tenth and 
Eighteenth army corps, up the James river, landing at Wil- 
son's Wharf a regiment of Wild's negro troops, and two 
brigades of the same color at Fort Powhatan ; thence up to 
City Point, where Ilinks' division was landed ; and at Ber- 
muda Hundred, just below the mouth of the Appomattox, the 
entire army was disembarked. 

On the 7th, five brigades, under General Brooks, struck for 
the Petersburg and Bichmond Railroad, and succeeded in 
destroying a bridge seven miles north of Petersburg. In the 
mem time, Butler, after intrenching himself, closed about the 
defences of Drury's Bhiff. The Yankee general seemed confi- 



TIIK THIRD TKAR OF THE WAK. 267 

dent that he could, by a little fighting, in conjunction with the 
powerful flotilla upon the James, easily overconie the main 
barrier to his approach to the rear of the Confederate capital, 
presented in the defences of Drury's Bluff. It was already 
announced to the credulous public of the North that Butler 
had cut Beauregard's army in twain ; that he had carried two 
lines of the defences of Drury's Blufi"; and that he held the 
keys to the back-door of Richmond. 

On Monday, the 16th of May, General Beauregard fell upon 
the insolent enemy in a fog, drove Butler from his advanced 
positions back to his original earthworks, and inflicted upon liim 
a loss of five thousand men in killed, M^ounded, and captured. 
lie had fallen upon the right of the Yankee line of battle with 
the force of an avalanche, completely crushing it backward 
and turning Butler's flank. The action was decisive. The 
day's operations resultf^l in Butler's entire army being ordered 
to return from its advanced position, within ten miles of Iiich- 
mond, to the line of defence known as Bermuda Hundred, be- 
tween the James and Appomattox rivers. 

While Butler had thus come to grief, the failure of Sigel, 
who threatened the valley of Virginia, was no less complete. 
On the 15th his column was encountered near Newmarket by 
General Breckinridge, who drove it across the Shenandoah, 
captured six pieces of artillery and nearly one thousand stand 
of small arms, and inflicted upon it a heavy loss; Sigel aban- 
doning his hospitals and destroying the larger portion of his 
train. 

We left Grant defeated in the action of the 12th in front of 
Spottsylvania Court-house. On the 14th, he moved his lines 
by his left flank, taking position nearer the Richmond and 
Fredericksburg railroad. On the 18th he attempted an assault 
on Ewell's line, which was easily repulsed. It was admitted by 
the enemy that the object of this attack was to turn Lee's left 
flank, and that their line got no further than the abattis, when 
it Avas ''''ordered'''' back to its original position. 

A new movement was now undertaken by Grant : to pass 
his army from the line of the Po, down the valley of the Rap- 
pahannock. It thus became necessary for General Lee to evac- 
uate his strong position on the line of the Po ; and by an ad- 
mirable movement he had taken a new position between the 



268 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

North and South Anna, before Grant's army had arrived at the 
former stream. Having cut loose from Fredericksburg as a 
base (and established depots on the Lower Rappahannock), on 
the 21st Grant's forces occupied Milford Station and Bowling 
Green, and were moving on the well known high roads to 
Richmond. But they were again intercepted ; for Lee had 
planted himself between Grant and Richmond, near Hanover 
Junction. 

On the 23d, and on the 25th, Grant made attempts on the 
Confederate lines, which were repulsed, and left him to the 
last alternative. Another flanking operation remained for 
him, by which he swung his army from the North Anna 
around and across the Pamunkey. On the 27th, Hanovertown 
was reported to be occupied by the Yankee advance under 
General Sheridan ; and on the 28th Grant's entire army was 
across the Pamunkey. 

In the mean time. General Lee also reformed his line of bat- 
tle, north and south, directly in front of the Virginia Central 
railroad, and extending from Atlee's Station, south, to Shady 
Grove, ten miles north of Richmond. In this position he cov- 
ered both the Yirginia Central and the Fredericksburg and 
Richmond railroads, as well as all the roads leading to Rich- 
mond, west of, and including the Mechanicsville pike. 

The favorite tactics of Grant appear to have been to devel- 
ope the left flank ; and by this characteristic maneuver, he 
moved down the Hanover Court-house road, and on the first 
day of June took a position near Cold Harbor. 

Grant was now within a few miles of Richmond. The vul- 
gar mind of the North readily seized upon the cheap circum- 
stance of his proximity in miles to the Confederate capital, 
and exclaimed its triumph. The capture of Richmond was 
discounted as an event of the next week. The Yankee periodi- 
cals were adorned with all those illustrations which brutal 
triumph could suggest; Grant drubbing Lee across his knee ; 
the genius of Yankee liberty holding aloft an impersonation of 
the Southern Confederacy by the seat of the breeches, marked 
" Richmond ;" Jefferson Davis playing his last card, ornament- 
ed with a crown of death's heads, and with his legs well girt 
with snakes ; and a hundred other caricatures alike character- 
istic of the vulgar thought and fiendish temper of the Yankee. 



THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 269 

To such foolish extremity did this premature celebration go, 
that a meeting was called in New York to render the thanks 
of the nation to Grant, and twenty-five thousand persons com- 
pleted the hasty apotheosis. 

But for the candid and intelligent, the situation of Grant was 
one of sinister import to him, implied much of disaster, and 
was actually a consequence of his repeated disappointments. 
The true theory of it was defeat, not victory. He did nothing 
more than hold the same ground as that occupied by General 
McClellan in his first peninsular campaign. This position, had 
he come by that point, a day's sail from Washington, he could 
have occupied without the loss of a single man. But he had 
occupied it by a devious route ; with a loss variously estimated 
at from sixty to ninety thousand men ; witli the consumption 
of most of his veteran troops, whom he had put in front; with 
the disconcert and failure of those parts of the drama which 
Butler and Sigel were to enact ; and with that demoralization 
which must unavoidably obtain in an army put to the test of 
repeated defeats and forced marches. 

What was represented by the enemy as the retreat of Gen- 
eral Lee's army to Richmond, was simply its movement from 
a position which its adversary had abandoned, to place itself 
full before him across the new road on which he had deter- 
mined to travel. In this sense, it was Grant who was pursued, 
'lie had set out to accomplish Mr. Lincoln's plan of an overland 
march upon Richmond. Mr. Lincoln's scheme as detailed by 
himself, in his famous letter to General McClellan, was to 
march by the way of the Manassas railroad. The first move- 
ment of General Grant was to give up that route, and fall back 
upon the line by which Generals Burnside and Hooker at- 
tempted to reach the Confederate capital — that is, the Freder- 
icksburg and Richmond line. But, repulsed at Spottsylvania, 
this route proved untenable, and General Grant was forced 
east and south, and adopted a new base at Port Royal and 
Tappahannock, on the Rappahannock river, which conformed 
in a measure to General McClellan's first plan of a march upon 
Richmond by way of Urbana. Tl^ next change Grant was 
compelled to make was, after finding how strong the Confed- 
erates were, as posted on the South Anna, to cross the Pamun- 
key and make his base at the White House, bearing thereafter 



270 THE THIED YEAK OF THE WAE- 

Btill fiirUier east and fcoutli to the precise ground of McClcllan's 
operations. 

The siirnificance of all these movennents was, that Grant had 
utterly fuilcd in his donign of defeating: Lee's army far from its 
base, and pubhing the fragments before him down to Rich- 
mond, and had been forced to cover np his failure by adopting 
the derided scheme of McClellan. The event of the 12th of 
May at Spottsylvania Court-house, had settled the question 
whetlier he could beat Lee in the field and put him in a dis- 
astrous retreat. Unable to remove the obstacle on the thresh- 
old of his projjosed campaign, nothing was left but to abandon 
it. Grant makes his way down the valley of the Ilapjjahan- 
nock ; turns aside to Hanover Junction, to find a repetition of 
Spotts^'lvania Court-house ; deflects to the headwaters of the 
York ; and at last, by a monstrous circuit, reaches a point 
where he might have landed on the 1st of May, without loss 
or opposition. We may appreciate the amount of gaseous non- 
sense and truculent blackguardism of Yankee journals, when 
we find them declaring tliat these movements wei'e a footrace 
for Ilichmond, that Grant was across the last ditch, and that 
the end of the rebellion was immediately at hand. 



THE BATTLE OF THE CniCKAHOMINY, OK COLD HAEBOR. 

But we must return to the events on the Ilichmond lines. 
The position occupied by Grant on AVednesday, Ist of June, 
had been obtained after some fighting, and by the enemy's 
own admission had cost him two thousand men in killed and 
wounded. An imjjoi-tant and criticnl struggle was now to 
ensue. Grant hud secured a position, theimj^ortance of which 
was that it was the point of convergence of all the roads, radi- 
ating whether to Ilichmond — his objective point, or to White 
House — his base of suj)plie8. Ua was now to essay the pas- 
sage of the Chickahominy, and we were to have another deci- 
sive battle of Cold Harbor. 

ITiere is good evidence tliat Grant's intention was to make 
it the decisive battle of the campaign. The movements of the 
preceding days, culminating in the possession of Cold Harbor 
— an important strategic point — had drawn the enemy's lines 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 271 

close in front of the Cliickahominy, and reduced the military 
problem to tlic forcing of the passage of that river — a pruhlem 
"which, if Solved in Grant's favor, would decide whether Itich- 
mond could be carried by a coup de main, if a decisive victory 
ehould attend his arms, or, whether he should betake himself 
to siege operations or some other recourse. 

Early on the morning of Friday, June 3d, the assault was 
made, Hancock commanding the left of the Yankee line of 
battle, and leading the attack. The first Confederate line was 
held by Breckinridge's troops, and was carried. TWe reverse 
was but momentary, for the troops of Millegan's brigade and 
the Maryland battalion, soon dashed forward, to retrieve the 
honors wiiich the Yankees had snatched. 

On every part of the line the enemy was repulsed by the 
quick and decisive blows of the Confederates. Hancock's 
corps, the only portion of the Yankee army that hud come in 
contact witii the Confederate works, had been hurled back in 
a storm of fire ; the Sixth corps had not been able to get up 
further than within two hundred and fifty yards of the main 
works; while Warren and i>urnside, on the enemy's right and 
right centre, were staggered on the lines of our rifle pits. The 
decisive work of the day was done in ten rrduuies. Kever 
were there such signal strokes of valor ; such despatch of vic- 
tory. It was stated in the accounts of the Confederates that 
fourteen distinct assaults of the enemy were repulsed, and that 
his loss was from six to seven thousand. No wonder that the 
insolent assurance of the capture of Richmond was displaced, 
in the Yankee newspapers by the ominous calculation that 
Grant could not afford many such experiments on the en- 
trenched line of the Cliickahominy, and would have to make 
some other resort to victory. 

The battle of Cold Harbor was sufficient to dispel the delu- 
sion of weakness and demoralization in Lee's arniy ; for this 
derided army, almost in the tiuie it takes to tell the story, had 
repulsed at every point the most determined assault of tlie 
enemy, and in the few brief mometits of a single morning had 
achieved an unbroken circuit of victories. Grant and his 
friends were alike dismayed. The latter insisted that he siiould 
have half a million more of men to accomplish his work. 
" We should," said a Boston paper, " have a vigorous and 



272 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

overwhelming war, or else peace without further effusion of 
blood." A certain portion of the Yankee press maintained the 
unbroken lie, and told the story of an uninterrupted series of 
victories. 

An object of most curious and constant interest in the war 
was the rivalry of the different routes to Richmond. Mc- 
Clellan had chosen the peninsular approach, while Mr. Lin- 
coln dissented in favor of an advance from the Lower Rappa- 
liannock, Burnside had chosen Fredericksburg as his base ; 
Hooker had acted on the same choice. Meade had selected 
the Rapidan, as Pope had done before him. Grant came to 
his command, unembarrassed and untrammeled by the prece- 
dents and comments of others. He had hunted up the roads 
to Richmond, through the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court- 
house, and avowed his unchangeable purpose to adhere to that 
as his true line. He had now wandered around to McClellan's 
old base. But the battle of July 3d, decided that Richmond 
could no longer be approached with advantage from the 
North, and the disconcerted, shifting commander, with his 
stock of expedients well-nigh exhausted, found nothing now 
left for him but to transfer his entire army to the south side of 
the James river. 

On the 5th of June Hunter had obtained a success at Pied- 
mont, in Western Virginia, and had effected the capture of 
Staunton ; the saddest circumstance of which affair was the 
loss of General W. E. Jones, one of the most distinguished 
cavalry commanders of the Confederacy. 

After occupying Staunton, Hunter had formed a junction 
Teith the combined forces of Crook and Averill, and on the 
13th of June was reported to be moving with his whole com- 
mand against Lynchburg. On the 7th, Sheridan had crossed 
the Pamunkey, and was moving eastward in the direction of 
the Gordonsville railroad. The main movement of the new 
combination — that of Grant across the James — commenced 
Sunday night the 12th of June. 

The first plan of the enemy had comprehended the advance 
of Sigel down the Shenandoah, and the capture of Petersburg, 
if nothing more, by Butler, while General Grant engaged 
Lee's army between the Rapidan and Richmond. Tliat plan 
having signally failed, the second comprised the capture of 



THE THIRD YKAU OF THE WAH. "Z t -J 

Lynclibnrg by Hunter, of Gordonsville and Cliarlottcsvillo by 
Sheridan, and of Petersburg by Meade. It was thus hoped to 
isolate the Confederate capital by catting off its communica- 
tions on every side. 

It was, perhaps, not Grant's design to cross the river until 
he had made some attempt on the Central and New Market 
roads leading into Richmond from the direction of Malvern 
Hill. On the 13th June, he caused a reconnoissance in force 
to be made from the Long Bridge toward the Quaker road, 
and in an affair near the intersection of this road with the 
Charles City road was repulsed, and drew off his forces, well 
satisfied that tlie Confederates held with heavy forces all the 
roads by which Richmond could be reached from the south- 
east. 

The Eighteenth Yankee corps had proceeded by water to 
Bermuda Hundred. The remaining corps had crossed the 
Chickahorainy at James Bridge and Long Bridge ; and after 
tlie reconnoissance of the 13th, proceeded down the James, 
and crossed in the neighborhood of City Point. 



THE BATTLES OF PET'EESBUEG. 

Petersburg had already sustained a considerable attack of 
the enemy. An expedition from Butler's lines had essayed its 
capture on the 9th of June. • 

Ajjproaching with nine regiments of infantry and cavalry, 
and at least four pieces of artillery, the enemy searched our 
lines, a distance of nearly six miles. Hood's and Batles' bat- 
talions, the Forty-sixth Virginia, one company of the Twenty- 
third South Carolina, with Sturdevant's battery, and a few 
guns in position, and Talliaferro's cavalry, kept them at bay. 
The Yankees were twice repulsed, but succeeded at last in 
penetrating a gap in our line ; when reinforcements coming up 
drove back the insolent foe from approaches which tlieir foot- 
steps for the first time polhited. 

The fortunate issue of this first attack on Petersburg encour- 
aged the raw troops and militia who had been put under arms 
for the defence of " the Cockade City." General Wise ad- 
dressed the tro4)p8 of his command in a memorable and thrill- 

18 



274 THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 

ing order ; " Petersburg," said he, " is to be, and shall be, 
defended on her outer walls, on her inner lines, at her corpora- 
tion bounds, in every street, and around every temple of God, 
and altar of man," 

The resolution of the gallant city — with its defences rein- 
forced by the fortunate Beauregard — was now to be put to a 
much more severe test, for it was to encounter the shock of the 
bulk of Grant's army. 

Smith's corps having disembarked at Bermuda Hundred on 
the 14th, moved rapidly upon Petersburg, and made an assault 
on the batteries covering the approaches to the city on the 
north-east. Having got possession of this line of works, held 
principally by Confederate militia, Smith waited the coming 
up of the Second corps. 

On the evening of the 16th, an attack was ordered on the 
Confederate line of works in front of Petersburg, Smith's corps 
being on the right, on the Petersburg and Cit}'' Point road, 
west of the railroad, the Second corps in the centre, and Burn- 
side on the left, reaching the Prince George Court-house road. 
The assault was not only repulsed at every point, but our 
troops, assuming the aggressive, drove the Yankees from their 
breastworks, at Howlett's House, captured some of their guns, 
and opened upon them an enfilading lire, under which they 
fled precipitately. 

The most furious assault of the enemy had been made on 
General Hoke's front, whose division occupied a position 
facing batteries from Nine to Twelve inclusive. Tiiree differ- 
ent charges were repulsed by these heroic troops. In the final 
repulse of the enemy, a large portion of a Yankee brigade, 
being exposed to an enfilading artillery fire from our guns, 
sought shelter in a ravine, and surrendered to the Sixty-fourth 
Georgia regiment. 

On Friday, 17th June, fighting was renewed without result. 
The next day, it was resolved by the enemy to make an assault 
along the whole line for the purpose of carrying the town. It 
was thus that the action of the 18th was designed to be deci- 
sive of operations on the present position. 

Three different assaults were made by the enemy during the 
day — at four in the morning, at noon, and at four in the after- 
noon. Each one was repulsed. Hancock and -Burnside in the 



THE THraD TKAR OF THE WAR. 275 

centre suffered severely. After severe losses on the part of 
all the Yankee corps, night found the Confederates still in 
possession of their works covering Petersburg. 

The disaster of this day left Grant without hope of making 
any impression on the works in his front, and placed him under 
the necessity of yet another change of operations. The series 
of engagements before Petersburg had cost him at least ten 
thousand men in killed and wounded, and had culminated in 
another decisive defeat. 

The misfortune of the enemy appeared, indeed, to be over- 
whelming. Pickett's division had given him another lesson 
at Port Walthal Junction. It was here the heroes of Gettys- 
burg repulsed a force under Gilmore engaged in destroying 
the railroad, took two lines of his breastworks and put him to 
disastrous flight. 

Kor was there any compensation to be found in the auxil- 
iary parts of Grant's second grand combination. Sheridan 
had failed to perform his part. He was intercepted by Hamp- 
ton's cavalry at Trevillian station on the Gordonsville road, 
defeated in an engagement on the 10th, and compelled to with- 
draw his command across the North Anna. Hunter had come 
to similar grief, and his repulse at Lynchburg involved conse- 
quences of the gravest disaster to the enemy. 

On the 18th of June, Hunter made an attack upon Lynch- 
burg from the south side which was repulsed by troops that 
had arrived from General Lee's lines. The next day, more re- 
inforcements having come up, preparations were made to 
attack the enemj^, when he retreated in confusion. We took 
thirteen of his guns, pursued him to Salem, and forced him to 
a line of retreat into the mountains of Western Virginia. The 
attempt of the Yankees to whitewash the infamous and cow- 
ardly denouement was more than usually refreshing. Hunter 
officially announced that his expedition had been " extremely 
successful ;" that he had left Lynchburg because " his ammu- 
nition was running short ;" and that as to the singular line he 
had taken up, he was now "ready for a move in any di- 
rection." 

But the measure of misfortune in Grant's distracted cam- 
paign appeared to be not yet full On the 22d he made a 
movement on his left to get possession of the Weldon railroad, 



276 THE TIIIKI) YEAR OF THE WAR. 

but found the Confederates had extended theh' right to meet 
him. While the Second and the Sixth corps of Grant's army 
were attempting to communicate in this movement, the Con- 
federates, under General Anderson, pierced the centre, cap- 
tured a battery of four guns and took prisoners one entire 
brigade, General Pearce's, and part of another. 

Another attempt or raid on the railroad, by Wilson's and 
Ivautz's divisions of cavalry was terminated in disaster. In 
the neighborhood of Spottswood river, twenty-five miles south 
of Petersburg, on the 28th, the expedition was attacked, cut in 
two, the greater part of its artillery abandoned and its wagon 
trains left in the hands of the Confederates. The enemy had 
been encountered by Hampton's cavalry, and Finnegan's and 
JVIahone's infantry brigades; and the results of the various 
conflicts were enumerated as one thousand prisoners, thirteen 
pieces of artillery, thirty wagons and ambulances, and many 
small arms. 

It was evident that the spirit of the North had commenced to 
stagger under this accumulation of disaster. Gold had already 
nearly touched three hundred. The uneasy whispers in Wash- 
ington of another draft gave new suggestions to popular discon- 
tent. The Confederate Congress had adjourned after the publi- 
cation of an address referring to recent military events and the 
confirmed resolution of the South, and deprecating the contin- 
uance of the war. These declarations were eagerly seized upon 
by Northern journals, who insisted that no time should be lost 
in determining whether they might not possibly signify a 
willingness on the part of the South to make peace on the 
basis of new constitutional guaranties. The finances at Wash- 
ington were becoming desperate. Mr. Chase, the Secretary of 
the Treasury, had peremptorily resigned. His last words of 
otficial counsel were, that nothing could save the finances but 
a series of military successes of undoubted magnitude. 



SHERMAN 8 " ON-TO-ATLANTA. 

Simultaneously with Grant's advance on Kichmond, Sher- 
man moved on Dalton in three columns : Thomas in front, 
Schofield from Cleveland on the north-east, while McPherson 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 277 

threw himself on the line of communication south-west at Ke- 
saca, fifteen miles south of Dalton. On the 7th of June, 
Thomas occupied Tunnel Hill, ten miles north-west of Dalton,, 
and took up a strong position at Buzzard's Roost. By the 
flank movement on Resaca, Johnston was forced to evacuate 
Dalton. 

On the 14th the first important battle of the campaign was 
fought in Resaca valley. Two efforts were made to carry the 
breastworks of the Confederates, without success, when John- 
ston in the afternoon assumed the offensive and drove the en- 
emy some distance, with a loss which his own bulletins stated 
to be two thousand. 

On the loth, there was desultory fighting, and on the 16th 
General Johnston took up at leisure his line of retrograde 
movement, in the direction of the Etowah river, passing 
through Kingston and Cassville. At both places the enemy 
was held in check. From Cassville, Sherman, having sent 
the right of his army by way of Rome, moved his centre and 
left across the Etowah west of the railroad, and then marched 
towards Dallas. 

On the 28th, General Cleburne's division of Johnston's army 
engaged the advance corps of the enemy under General Mc- 
Pherson at New Hope, and signally repulsed him, with heavy 
loss. So far, the retrograde movement of Johnston was, in 
some respects, a success ; it had been attended with at least 
two considerable victories ; it had been executed deliberately, 
being scarcely ever under the immediate pressure of the ene- 
my's advance ; and it had now nearly approached the decisive 
line of the Chattahoochee or whatever other line he, who was 
supposed to be the great strategist of the Confederacy, should se- 
lect for the cover of Atlanta. The events of the campaign, so far, 
were recounted with characteristic modesty by General John- 
ston. On the 1st of June, he telegraphed to Richmond of his 
army : " In partial engagements it has had great advantages, 
and the sum of all the combats amounts to a battle." 

In the mean time, the two armies continued to maneuver 
for position. Sherman held both Altoona and Ackworth with- 
out a battle, the latter about twelve miles from Marietta. It 
was said that these positions would enable him to maintain his 
lines of communications with Chattanooga by railway intact, 



278 * THE THIKD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

and clear his rear of Confederates ; but he found Johnston 
opposing him with a strong rear-guard, and drawn close to his 
supplies in Atlanta and Augusta. 

While these events were transpiring in Georgia, an imj^ort- 
ant event had taken place in the South"\^est : the defeat of 
the Yankee expedition under Sturgis on its way from Mem- 
phis to operate in Slierman'srear, In this action, at Guntown, 
Mississippi, Sturgis lost most of his infantry and all of his ar- 
tillery and trains, and the Confederates, under Forrest, achiev- 
ed a victory that had an important influence on the campaign 
in Georgia. Forrest took two thousand prisoners, and killed 
and wounded an equal number. 



BATTLE OF KENES AW MOUNTAIN. 

On the 27th of June, General Sherman directed an attack on 
Johnston's position at Keiiesaw Mountain. This mountain 
was the apex of Johnston's lines. " Both armies were in strong 
works, the opposite salients being so near in some places that 
skirmishers could not be thrown out. The assault of the enemy 
was made in three columns, about eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing. It was repulsed on every part of the Confederate 
line. The loss of the enemy was considerable, even as stated 
in his own offieial reports. General McPherson reported 
his loss about five hundred, and Thomas, his, about two thou- 
sand. 

In consequence, however, of a flanking movement of the 
enemy on the right, Johnston on the 3d of July abandoned 
the mountain defence and retired toward Atlanta. 

It is true that Johnston's retreat to the immediate lines of 
Atlanta, was consummated without any considerable military 
disaster. But it was a sore disappointment to the public ; for 
it had given up to the Yankees half of Georgia, abandoned 
one of the finest wheat districts of the Confederacy, almost 
ripe for harvest, and at Rome and on the Etowah river, had 
surrendered to the enemy iron-rolling mills, and government 
works of great value. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 279 



THE BATTLES OF ATLANTA. 

But a lesson \va^ reserved for Sherman on the Atlanta lines 
by the gallant and impulsive Lieutenant-general Hood, who 
liad taken command of the army that Johnston had, by a long 
and negative campaign, brought back to Atlanta. 

We shall not attempt here the details of the great battles of 
Atlanta. 

On the 20th of Jul}^, Hood attacked the enemy's riglit on 
Peach-tree creek, near the Chattahoochee, driving him from 
his works, and caj^turiug colors and prisoners. 

On tlie 22d of July, Hood's army shifted its position front- 
ing on Peach-tree creek, and Stewart's and Cheatham's corps 
formed line of battle around the city. Hardee's corps made a 
night march and attacked the enemy's extreme left at one 
o'clock, on the 22d, and drove him from his works, capturing 
sixteen pieces of artillery and five stands of colors. Cheatham 
attacked the enemy at four o'clock in the afternoon, with a 
portion of his command, and drove the enemy, capturing six 
pieces of artillery. During the engagement we captured about 
two thousand prisoners. 

After the battle of the 22d, Sherman's army was transferred 
from its position on the east side of Atlanta to the extreme 
right of Hood's army, on the west side, threatening the Macon 
road. Lieutenant-generals Stewart and Lee were directed by 
Hood to hold the Lickskillet road for the day with their com- 
mands. On the 28th, a sharp engagement ensued, witii no 
advantage to either side ; the Confederate loss fifteen hundred 
killed and wounded. 

The results of these battles were, on the whole, a most 
encouraging success for the Confederates ; revived their liopes 
on what had been considered a doubtful theatre of action ; and 
left Sherman, although still holding his lines of investment, in 
a most critical condition, with an army, several hundred miles 
in its country, having its rear exposed, and depending upon a 
single line of railroad for its communications. 

"VVe may take leave here of the military situation ; satisfied 



280 TIIK TiriUD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

that a pause liad now been given to the parallel operations of 
the enemy in Virf^jnia and (icorgia : aimed, the one at Rich- 
mond, wliicli tlic V iuikecs entitled the heart and brains of the 
Confederacy ; and the other at Atlanta, the centre of import- 
ant manufacturing enterprises, and the door to the great 
granary of the Gulf States. Both movements were now 
unmistakably in check ; and the interlude of indecision afford- 
ed a curious commentary on the boastful confidence that had 
recorded the fall of Ilichmond and the capture of Atlanta as 
the expectations of each twenty-four hours. 

There was reason, indeed, for the North to be depressed. 
Tlie disappointment of the Yankees was with particular refer- 
ence to the cam|)aign of Grant in Virginia. The advance 
from the Kapidan, which we have followed to its recoil before 
Petersburg, had been made under conditions of success which 
had attended no other movement of the enemy. It was made 
after cigiit months' deliberate i)rcparation. In the Congress 
at Washington it was stated that, in these eight months, the 
Government had actually raised seven hundred thousand men 
— an extent of preparation which indicated an intention to 
overwhelm and crush the Confederacy by a resistless com- 
bined attack. Nor was this all. One hundred tliousand 
three-months' men were accepted from Ohio and other States, 
for defensive service, in order that General Grant might avail 
himself of the whole force of trained soldiers. The result of 
the campaign, so far, did not justify the expectations on which 
it had been planned. The Yankee Government which, since 
tlie commencement of the war, had called for a grand total of 
twenty-three hundred thousand men, and had actually raised 
eighteen hundred thousand men, of an average term of service 
of three yeai's, to crush the Confederacy, saw in the fourth 
year of the war the Confederacy erect and defiant, and Rich- 
mond shielded by an army which had so far set at nought the 
largest pre[)aration8 and niobt tremendous exertions of the 
North. 

"We cannot close this brief sketch of important parts of the 
summer campaign of 180-1, in Virginia and in the West, with- 
out adverting to the barbarities of the enemy, which especially 
marked it, and which, indeed, by regular augmentation 
be<;ame more atrocious as the war progressed. In this year 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 2Sl 

they exceeded all that was already known of the brutality of 
our enraged enemy. 

General Sliertnan illustrated the campaign in the West, 
by a niemoralWe barbarity, in a letter of instructions to 
General Eurbridge, commanding in the Department of Ken- 
tucky, charging him to treat all partisans of the Confederates 
in tliat State as " vnld hearts. ^'' It was the invariable and con- 
venient practice of the Yankees to designate as " guei'illas,"' 
whatever troops of the Confederates were particularly trouble- 
some to them ; and the opprobrious term was made, by Gen- 
eral k^hernian, to include the regularly commissioned soldiers 
of General Morgan's command, and whatever bodies of Con- 
federate cavalry chose to roam over territory which the enemy 
disputed.* 

Some expressions, in the orders referred to, were character- 
istic of the Yankee, and indicated those notions of constitu- 
tional law which had rapidly demoi'alized the North. General 
Sherman declared that he had already recommended to Gov- 
ernor Bramlette of Kentucky, " at one dash to arrest every 
man in the country who was dangerous to it." " The fact is," 
said this military Solomon, " in our country personal liberty 
has been so well secured that public safety is lost sight of in 
our laws and institutions ; and the fact is we are thrown back 
one hundred years in civilization, laws, and every thing else, 

* Bi'rbridge was not slow to carry out the suggestions or instructions of his 
masters. The following is a copy of a 8<iction of one of his orders : 

HEADqUAKTPJRS DXKTKICT KeNTLX'KY, 

FiFTU DivihioN, Twknty-thiiid Aiimy Coups,] 
Lkxington, Kentucky, July 10, 1804. 

Rebel sympathizers living within five miles of any scene of outrage commit- 
ted by armed men, not rewjgnized as public enemies by the rules and usages 
of war, will Ije arrested and sent l>eyond the limits of the Unite<J States. 

In accordance with instructions from the major-general wjinmanding the 
military- district of the Missii^sippi, so much of the property of rebel sympathiz- 
ers as may be necessary to indemnify the fiovernment or loyal citizens for 
losses incurred by the acts of such lawless men, will be seized and appropriated 
for this purpose. 

Whenever an unarmed Union citizen is murdered, four guerillas will bo 
selected from the prisoners in the hands of the military authorities, and pub- 
licly .shot to death in the most convenient place near the scene of outrage. By 
c<jmmand of 

Brevet Major-general S. cf. BciiBUiDaE. 

J. B. DiCKSOK, Captain and A. A. General. 



282 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

and will go riglit straight to anarchy and the devil, if some- 
body don't arrest our downward progress. We, the niilitarj, 

must do it, and we have right and law on our side 

Under this law everybody can be made to stay at home and 
mind his or her own business, and, if they won't do that, can 
be sent away." These sage remarks on American liberty were 
concluded with the recommendation that all males and 
females, in sympathy with so-called " guerillas," should be 
arrested and sent down the Mississippi to some foreign land, 
where they should be doomed to perpetual exile. 

As Sherman advanced into the interior of Georgia he laid 
waste the country, fired the houses, and even did not hesitate 
at the infamous expedient of destroying the agricultural imple- 
ments of all those who produced from the soil subsistence for 
man. He declared to the persecuted people that this time he 
would have their property, but, if the war continued, next 
year he would have their lives. Four hundred factory girls 
whom he captured in Georgia he bundled into army wagons, 
and ordered them to be transported beyond the Oliio, where 
the pool- girls were put adrift far from home and friends, in a 
Btran<j:e land.* 



* The following announcement appeared in the Louisville newspapers : — 

" AkkiVai. of Women and Chilijuen from the South. — The train wliich arrived 
from Nasliville last evening brought up from the South two hundred and forty-nine 
women and cliildren, who are sent liere by order of General Sherman, to be trans- 
ferred north of the Ohio river, tliere to remain during the war. We understand that 
tliere are now at Nashville fifteen hundred women and children, who are in a very 
destitute condition, and who are to be sent to this place to be sent North. A num- 
ber of them were engaged in the manufactories at Sweet Water, at the time that 
place was captured by our forces. These people are mostly in a destitute condition, 
having no means to provide for themselves a support. Why they should be sent 
here to be transferred North is more than we can understand." 

It was also stated in these same papers that, when these women and children 
arrived at Louisvilh^, they were detained there and advertised to be hired out 
as servants, to take tlie place of the large number of negroes who have been 
liberated by the military authorities and are now gathered in large camps 
throughout Kentucky, where they are fed and supported in idleness and 
viciousness at the expense of the loyal taxpayers. Thus, while these negro 
women are rioting and luxuriating in the Federal camps, on the bounty of the 
Government, the white women and children of the South are arrested at their 
homes, and sent oflf as prisoners to a distant country, to be sold in bondage, as 
the following advertisement fully .attests ; — 

"Notice. — Families residing in the city or the country, wiahing seamstresses or 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 283 

From Chattanooga to Marietta there was presented to the 
eye one vast scene of misery. The fugitives from ruined vil- 
lages or deserted fields sought shelter in the mountains. Cities 
were sacked, towns burnt, populations decimated. All along 
the roads were great wheat-fields, and crops sufiicient to feud 
all New England, which were to be lost for want of laborers. 
The country had been one of the most beautiful of the Con- 
federacy. One looked upon the gentle undulations of the val- 
leys, terminating in the windings of the rivers, and flanked by 
the majestic barriers of the mountains. This beautiful country 
had been trodden over by both armies. In every town the 
more public buildings and the more conspicuous residences had 
been devoured by fire, or riddled with shot and shell. Every 
house used as headquarters, or for Confederate commissary 
stores, or occupied by prominent citizens, had been singled out 
by the enemy for destruction. In some instances churches had 
not escaped. They had been stripped for fire-wood or con- 
verted into barracks and hospitals. Fences were demolished, 
and here and there a lordly mansion stood an unsightly ruin. 

The vandalism of Hunter in Yirginia drew upon him the 
censure of the few journals in the North which made any pre- 
tension to the decencies of humanity. At Lexington, he had 
burned the Yirginia Military Institute with its valuable library, 
philosophical and chemical apparatus, relics and geological 
specimens ; sacked "Washington College, and burned the house 
of ex-Governor Letcher, giving his wife only ten minutes to 
save a few articles of clothing. 

In the Southwest, the hellish crimes of the enemy were 
enough to sicken the ear. The expedition of Sturgis, defeated, 
as we have seen, in Mississippi by Forrest, flourished tlie title 
of the " Avengers of Fort Pillow." " Before the battle," says 
a correspondent, " fugitives from the counties through which 
Sturgis and his troops were advancing, came into camp detail- 
ing incidents which made men shudder, who are accustomed 
to scenes of violence and bloodshed. I cannot relate the stories 
of these poor frightened people. Robbery, rapine, and the 
assassination of men and women, were the least crimes com- 



Bervantf, can be suited hy applying at tlie refugee quarters on Broadway, between 
Ninth aud Tenth. This is sanctioned by Captain Jones, Provost ^an>hai." 



284- THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

initted, while the 'Avengers of Fort PiHow' overran and deso- 
lated the country. Ilude unlettered nieu, who had fought at 
Shiloh, and in many subsequent battles, wept like children, 
when they heard of the enormities to which their mothers, sis- 
ters, and wives liad been subjected by tlie negro mercenaries 
of Sturgis." 

Such enormities were monstrous enough; they shocked the 
moral sentiment of the age; yet they did not affright the soul 
of the South. The outrages practised upon helpless women, 
more helpless old age, and lK»peless poverty, assured the people 
of the Confederacy of the character of their enemies, and the 
designs of the war, and awakened resolution to oppose to the 
last extremity the mob of murderers and lawless miscreants 
who deseci'ated their soil and invaded their homes. Tiie war 
had obtained this singular hold on the minds of the Confed- 
erates ; that every man considered that he had in it the prac- 
tical, individual stake of his personal fortunes. When such a 
sentiment pervades a nation in war, who can say when or how 
it may be conquered ! 

At the time these pages are given to the press, it 

appears that the great disappointment of the North in the re- 
sults of the summer campaign of 18G4, has given rise to a cer- 
tain desire to end the war by negotiations, and that this desire 
has found some response in the South. The undignified and 
somewhat ridiculous overtures for peace made in this summer 
by parties, who, on each side, anxiously disclaimed that they 
had any authority from their governments, but, on each side, 
by a further curious coincidence, represeuted that they were 
acquainted with the wishes and views of their governments, 
cannot be altogether a story of egotistical adventures. They 
betray the incipiency, tliough an obscure one, of negotiations^ 
and the times are rapidly making developments of the tendency 
of an appeal to compose the war. 

We cannot anticipate what bribes may be offered the South 
to confederate again with the North. But one has been already 
suggested in the North : it is, to find an atrocious compensation 
for the war in a combined crusade against foreign nations. 

The New York Herald declares: "With a restored Union, 
prosperity would once more bless the land. If any bad blood 
remained on either side, it would soon disappear, or be jjurged 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THK WAR. 285 

by a foreign war. "With a combined veteran army of over a 
million of men, and a fleet more powerful than that of any 
European power, we could order France from Mexico, England 
from Canada, and Spain from Cuba, and enforce our orders if 
they were not oV>eyed. The American continent would then 
belong to Americans. The President at Washington would 
govern the Xew World, and the glorious dreams and prophe- 
cies of our forefathers would at length be realized." 

To a proposition of such infamy of infamies, the attention of 
the civilized world should be called. What a commentary 
upon that European policy which has lavished so much of 
sympathy and material comfort upon the North, and, on the 
other hand, has rejected the cause of a people, who as they are 
resolute in maintaining their own rights, are as equally, indeed 
expressly and emi>haticnlly, innocent of any designs on the 
right and welfare of otheis ! The suggestion is, that of a huge 
and horrible Democracy, eager to prey upon the rights of 
others, and to repair by plunder and outrage the cost of its 
feuds and the waste of its vices. 

The people of the Confederacy do not easily listen to sug- 
gestions of dishonor. Yet none are more open to the cunning 
persuasion which wears the disguise of virtuous remonstrance 
and friendly interest. It is here where the Yankee peacemaker 
is to be resisted and unmasked. 

It will be for the Conl'ederacy to stand firm in every political 
conjuncture, and to fortify itself against the blandishments and 
arts of a disconcerted and designing enemy. It will remember 
that enemy's warfare. It will remember that an army, whose 
jpersonnel has been drawn from oil parties in the North, has 
carried the war of the savage into their homes. It will re- 
member how Yankees have smacked their lips over their car- 
nage and the sufferings of their women and little ones. It will 
remember how New England clergymen have advised that 
" rebels," men, women and children, should be sunk beneath 
the Southern sod, and the soil " salted with Puritanical blood, 
to raise a new crop of men." To hate let us not reply with 
hate. We reply with the superiority of contempt, the resolu- 
tion of pride, the scorn of defiance. Surely, rather than re- 
unite with such a people; rather than cheat the war of "inde- 
pendence," and make its prize that cheap thing in American 



286 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

history — a paper guarantee ; rather than cheat our dead of that 
for which they died ; rather than entitle ourselves to the con- 
tempt of the world, the agonies of self-accusation, the reproof 
of the grave, the curses of posterity, the displeasure of the mer- 
ciful God who has so long signified His providence in our en- 
deavors, we are prepared to choose more suffering, more trials, 
even utter poverty and chains, and exile and death. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE "WAR. 



287 



CHAPTER XIII. 

AMERICAN IDEAS : A RKVIEW OF THE WAR. 

Sentimental Regrets concerning American History. — The European Opinion of 
'State" Institutions. — Caliioun, the Great Political Scholar of America. — His Doc- 
trines. — Conservatism oi "Nullification." — Its " Union" Sentiment. — Brilliant Vision 
of the South Carolina Statesman. — Webster, the Representative of the Imperfect and 
Insolent " Education" of New Entrland. — Yankee Libel.s in the shape of Party 
Nomenclature. — Influence of State Institutions. — How they were Auxiliary to the 
Union. — The Moral Veneration of the Union Peculiarly a Sentiment of the South. — 
What the South had done for the Union. — Senator Hammond's Speech. — Tlte States, 
not Schools of Provincialism and Estrangement. — The Development of America, a 
North and South, not Hostile States. — Peculiar Ideas of Yankee (Jivilization. — Ideas 
Nursed in "Free Schools." — Yankee Materialism. — How it has Developed in the 
War. — Yankee Falsehoods and Yankee Cruelties. — His Commercial Politics. — Price 
of his Liberties. — Ideas of the Confederates in the War. — How the Washington 
Routine was introduced. — The Richmond Government, Weak and Negative.- — 
No Political Novelty in the Confederacy. — The Future of Confederate Ideas. — 
Intellectual Barrenness of the War. — Material of the Confederate Army.— The 
Birth of Great Idea.s. — The Old Political Idolaters. — The Recompense of Suf- 
fering. 

It has been a sentimental regret with certain European stu- 
dents of American History that tlie colonies of America, after 
acquiring their independence, did not establish a single and 
coinpact nationality. The philosophy of these optiniista is that 
the State institutions were perpetual schools of provincialism, 
selfishness, and discontent, and that they were constantly edu- 
cating the people for the disruption of that Union which was 
only a partial and incomplete expression of the nationality of 
America. These men indulge the idea that America, as a na- 
tion, would have been colossal ; that its wonderful mountains 
and rivers, its vast stretch of territory, its teeming wealth, and 
the almost boundless military resources, which the present war 
has developed and proved, would then have deen united in one 
picture of grandeur, and in a single movement of sublime, ir- 
resistible progress. 

These are pretty dreams of ignorance. Those who ascribe 
to tlie State institutions of America our present distractions, 



233 THE TIIIUD TKAR OF THE WAR. 

and discover in them the nurseries of the existins: war, are 
essentially ignorant of our political liistory. They are stran- 
gers to the doctrines of Calhoun of South Carolina — the first 
name in the political literature of our old government — the 
first man who raised the party controversies of America to the 
dignity of a political philosophy and illuminated them with 
the lights of the patient and accomplished scholar. 

The great political discovery of Mr. Calhoun was this : that 
the rights of the States were the only solid foundation of the 
Union ; and that, so far from being antagonistic to it, they con- 
stituted its security, realized its perfection, and gave to it all 
the moral beauty with which it a^jpcaled to the affections of 
the people. It was in this sense that the great South Carolina 
statesman, so frequently calumniated as "nullifier," agitator, 
&c , was indeed the real and devoted friend of the American 
Union. He maintained the rights of the States — the sacred 
distribution of powers between therti and the general govern- 
ment — as the life of the Union, and its bond of attachment in 
the hearts of the people. And in this he was right. The State 
institutions of America, properly regarded, were not discord- 
ant ; nor were they unfortunate elements in our political life. 
They gave certain occasions to the divisions of industry ; they 
were instruments of material prosperity ; they were schools of 
pride and emulation ; above all, they were the true guardians 
of the Union, keeping it from degenerating into that vile and 
short-lived government in which power is consolidated in a 
mere numerical majority. 

Mr, Calhoun's so-called doctrine of Nullification is one of 
the highest proofs ever given by any American statesman of 
attachment to the Union. The assertion is not made for para- 
doxical eft'ect. It is clear enough in history, read in the severe 
type of facts, withf)ut the falsehoods and epithets of that Yan- 
kee literature which has so long defamed us, distorted our 
public men, and misrepresented us, even to ourselves. 

The so-called and miscalled doctrine of Nullification marked 
one of the most critical periods in the controversies of* Amer- 
ica, and constitutes one of the most curious studies for its 
philosophic historian. Mr. Calhoun was unwilling to offend 
the i^oj^ular idolatry of the Union ; he sought a remedy for 
existing evils short of disunion, and the consequence was what 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 289 

was called, by an ingenious slander, or a contemptible stu- 
pidity, Nullification. His doctrine was, in fact, an accommo- 
dation of two sentiments: that of Yankee injustice and that of 
reverence of the Union. He proposed to save the Union bj 
the simple and august means of an appeal to the sovereign 
States tliat composed it. He proposed that should the general 
government and a state come into conflict, the power should 
be invoked that called the general government into existence, 
and gave it all of its authority. In such a case, said Mr. Cal- 
houn, "the States themselves may be appealed to, three- 
fourths of which, in fact, form a power whose decrees are the 
Constitution itself, and whose voice can silence all discontent. 
The utmost extent, then, of the power is, that a State acting in 
its sovereign capacity, as one of the parties to the constitu- 
tional compact, may compel the government created by that 
compact to submit a question toucliing its infraction to the 
parties who created it." He proposed a peculiar, conserva- 
tive, and noble tribunal for the controversies that agitated the 
country and threatened the Union, lie was not willing that 
vital controversies between the sovereign States and the gen- 
eral government should be submitted to the Supreme Court, 
which properly excluded political questions, and comprehend- 
ed those only where there were parties amenable to the pro- 
cess of the court. This was the length and breadth of Nullifi- 
cation. It was intended to reconcile impatience of Yankee 
injustice, and that sentimental attachment to the Union which 
colors so much of American politics ; it resisted the suggestion 
of revolution ; it clung to the idolatry of the Union, and 
marked that passage in American history in M'hich there was 
a combat between reason and that idolatry, and in which that 
idolatry made a showy, but ephemeral conquest. 

The doctrine, then, of Mr. Calhoun was this : he proposed 
only to constitute a conservative and constitutional barrier to 
Yankee aggression ; and, so far from destroying the Union, 
proposed to erect over it the permanent and august guard of a 
tribunal of those sovereign powers which had created it. It 
was this splendid, but hopeless vision of the South Carolina 
statesman, which the North slandered with the catch-word of 
Nullification ; which Northern orators made the text of indig- 
nation ; on which Mr. Webster piped his schoolboy rhetoric ; 

19 



290 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

and on wliicli tlie more modern scliools of ISTew England have 
exhausted the lettered resources of their learned blacksmiths 
and Senatorial shoemakers. Mr. Webster, the representative 
of that imperfect and insolent education peculiar to New Eng- 
land, appears never to have known that Mr. Calhoun's doc- 
trine was not of his own origination ; tliat its suggestion, at 
least, came from one of the founders of the republic. We re- 
fer to that name which is apostolic in the earliest party divis- 
ions of America, and the enduring ornament of Virginia — 
Thomas Jefferson, the Sage of Monticello. At a late period of 
his life, Mr. Jefferson said : " With respect to our State and 
Federal governments, I do not think their relations are cor- 
rectly understood by foreigners. They suppose the former 
subordinate to the latter. This is not the case. They are co- 
ordinate departments of one simple and integral whole. But 
you may ask if the two departments should claim each the 
same subject of power, where is the umpire to decide between 
them ? In cases of little urgency or importance, the prudence 
of both parties will keep them aloof from the questionable 
ground ; but, if it can neither be avoided nor compromised, a 
Convention of the States must be called to ascribe the doubt- 
ful power to tliat department which tbey may think best." 

Here was the first suggestion of tlie real safety of the Union ; 
and it was this suggestion, reproduced by Calhoun, which the 
North slandered as Nullification, insulted as heresy, and 
branded as treason. 

It is a remarkable circumstance that the South should have 
tamely allowed the Yankees to impose upon her ])olitical lit- 
erature certain injurious terms, and should have adopted tliem 
to her own prejudice and shame. The world takes its impres- 
sion from names ; and the false party nomenclature which the 
North so easily fastened upon us, and which survives even in 
this war, has had a most important influence in obscuring our 
history, and especially in soliciting the prejudices of 'Europe. 

The proposition of Mr. Calhoun to protect the Union by a 
certain constitutional and conservative barrier, the North des- 
ignated Nullification, and the South adopted a name which 
was both a falsehood and a slander. The well-guarded and 
moderate system of negro servitude in the South, the North 
called Slavery ; and this false and accursed name has been 



THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAR. 291 

permitted to pass current in European literature, associating 
and carrying with it the horrors of barbarism, and defiling us 
in the eyes of the world. The Democratic party in the South, 
which claimed equality under the Constitution, as a principle, 
and not merely as a selfish interest, was branded by the North 
as a pro-slavery party, and the South submitted to the desig- 
nation. 

How little that great party deserved this title was well illus- 
trated in the famous Kansas controversy; for the history of 
that controversy was simply this : the South struggled for the 
principle of equality in the Territories, without reference to the 
selfish interests of so-called Slavery, and even with the admis- 
sion of the hopelessness of those interests in Kansas ; while the 
North contended for the narrow, selfish, practical consequence 
of making Kansas a part of her Free-soil possessions. The 
proofs of this may be made in two brief extracts from these 
celebrated debates. These are so full of historical instruction 
that they supply a place here much better than any narrative 
or comment could do : 

Mr. English, of Indiana. — I think I may safely say that there is not a 
Southern man within the sound of my voice who will not vote for tlie admis- 
sion of Kansas as a Free state, if she brings liere a Constitution to that effect. 
Is there a Soutliern man here who will vot«j against the admission of Kansas 
as a Free State, if it be the undoubted will of the people of that Territory that 
it shall be a Free State ? 

Many Membekb. — Not one. 

At another stage of the Kansas debate occurs the following: 

Mr. Barksdale, of Mississippi. — I ask you, gentlemen, on the other side of 
the House, of the Black Republican party, would you vote for the admission of 
Kansas into the Union, with a Constitution tolerating Slavery, if a hundred 
thou-sand people there wishe^l it '/ 

Mr. GiDDiNCSs, of Ohio. — I answer the gentleman that I will never associate, 
politically, with men of that character, if I can help it. I will never vote to 
compel Ohio to associate with another Slave State, if I can prevent it. 

Mr. Stanton. — I will say, if the gentleman will allow me, that the Repub- 
lican members of this House, so far as I know, will never vote for the admis- 
sion of any Slave State north of 36° 30'. 

"We return to the influence of State institutions on America. 
We contend that they were not hostile to the Union, or 



292 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

malignant in their character; that, on the contrary, they were 
auxiliary to the Union ; that they stimulated the national 
progress ; that, in fact, they interpreted the true glory of 
America ; and that it was especially these modifications of our 
national life which gave to the Union that certain moral 
sublimity so long the theme of American politicians. From 
these propositions we advance to a singular conclusion. It is 
that the moral veneration of the Union, which gives the key to 
so much of American history, was peculiarly a sentiment of 
the South ; while in the North it was nothing more than a mere 
affectation. 

This may sound strange to those who have read American 
history in the smooth surface of Yankee books ; who remember 
Webster's apostrophes to the glorious Union, and Everett's 
silken rhetoric ; whose political education has been manu- 
factured to hand by the newspapers, and clap-traps of Yankee 
literature about " nullification" and treason. But it is easy of 
comprehension. The political ideas of the North excluded that 
of any peculiar moral character about the Union ; the doctrine 
of State Rights was rejected by them for the prevalent notion 
that America was a single democracy ; thus, the Union to them* 
was nothing more than a geographical name, entitled to no 
peculiar claims upon the afiections of the people. It was 
different with the South. The doctrine of State Rights gave 
to the Union its moral dignity ; this doctrine was the only real 
possible source of sentimental attachment to the Union ; and 
this doctrine was the received opinion of the Southern jjeople, 
and the most marked peculiarity of tlieir politics. The South 
did not worship the Union in the base spirit of commercial 
idolatry, as a painted machinery to secure tariffs and bounties, 
and to aggrandize a section. She venerated the Union because 
she discovered in it a sublime moral principle; because she re- 
garded it as a peculiar association in which sovereign States 
were held by high considerations of good faith ; by the ex- 
changes of equity and comity ; by the noble attractions of 
social order ; by the enthused sympathies of a common destiny 
of power, honor, and renown. It was this galaxy which the 
South wore upon her heart, and before the clustered fires of 
whose glory she worshipped with an adoration almost Oriental. 
That Union is now dissolved ; that splendid galaxy of stars is 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 293 

1)0 more in the heavens; and wliere once it shone, the fierce 
comet of war has burst, and writes a red history on the azure 
page. 

But let this be said by the historian of this war : that the 
South loved the Union ; dissolved it unwillingly; and, though 
she had had the political administration of it in her hands 
during most of its existence, surrendered it without a blot on 
its fame. "Do not forget," said a Southern Senator, when Mr. 
Seward boasted in the United States Senate that the North was 
about to take control at Washington, " it can never be forgot- 
ten — it is written on the brightest page of human history — 
that we, the slaveholders of the South, took our country in her 
infancy, and, after ruling her for sixty out of the seventy years 
of her existence, we shall surrender her to you without a stain 
upon her honor, boundless in prosperity, incalculable in her 
strength, the wonder and the admiration of the world. Time 
will show what you will make of her; but no time can ever 
diminish our glory or your responsibility." 

But there is one conclusive argument which we may apply 
to the common European opinion, and the half-educated notion 
of this country that the State institutions of America were 
schools of provincialism and estrangement. If such had been 
the case, the dissolution of the Union would have found the 
States that composed it a number of petty principalities op- 
posed to each other, or, at least, diverse and heterogeneous. 
But this war has found no such thing. It has found the people 
of Virginia and Tennessee, the people of Missouri and South 
Carolina, entertaining the same political ideas, pursuing a 
single, common object in the war, and baptizing it in a com- 
mon bloodshed on its fields of contest and carnage. The States 
of the Southern Confederacy ofier to the world the example of 
its inhabitants as one people, homogeneous in their social 
systems, alike in their ideas, and unanimous in their resolves; 
and the States of the Korth afibrd similar illustrations of 
national unity. The war has found not discordant States, but 
two distinct nations, in the attitude of belligerents, difi'ering in 
blood, in race, in social institutions, in systems of popular in- 
struction, in political education and theories, in ideas, in man- 
ners ; and the whole sharpened by a long and fierce political 
controversy, that has arrayed them at last as belligerents, 



294 THE THIED YEAE OF THE WAE. 

and interposed the gage of armed and bloody contest. The 
development of America has been a North and a South ; 
not discordant States, but hostile nations. The present war 
is not for paltry theories of political parties, or for domestic 
institutions, or for rival administrations, but for the vital 
ideas of each belligerent, and the great stakes of national 
existence. 

What have been the ideas wdiich the North has developed or 
illustrated in this war? We will answer briefly. 

The North presents to the world the example of a people 
corrupted by a gross material prosperity ; their ideas of gov- 
ernment, a low and selfish utilitarianism ; their conceptions of 
civilization, prosperous railroads, penny newspapers, showy 
churches. Tlieir own estimates of their civilization never pene- 
trated beyond the mere surface and convenience of society ; 
never took into account its unseen elements; the public virtue, 
the public spirit, the conservative principle, the love of order, 
the reverence of the past, all which go to make up the grand 
idea of human civilization. 

It is amusing to the student of history to hear Mr. Sumner, 
of Massachusetts, asserting, with scholarly flourishes, that the 
South is barbarous, because she has no free schools : the sources 
of that half education in the North, which have been nurseries 
of insolence, irreverence of the past, infidelity in religion, and 
an itch for every new idea in the mad calendar of social re- 
forms. It is yet more amusing to hear his Senatorial peer — 
" the Natick cobbler." When, on the eve of the downiall of 
the government at Washington, a Southern Senator depicted 
the wealth that the South had poured into the lap of the 
Union, the elements it had contributed to its civilization, and 
the virtues it had brought to its adornment, Mr. Wilson, of 
Massachusetts, had this reply : " Massachusetts has more re- 
ligious newspapers than all the slaveholding States of the 
Union." 

The people of the North have never studied politics as a 
moral science. They have no idea of government as an inde- 
pendent principle of truth, virtue and honor ; to them it is 
merely an engine of material prosperity — a niere auxiliary 
ap]>endage to a noisy, clattering world of trade, and steam, and 
telegraphs. It is this low commercial sense of government 



THE THIKD YEAB OF THE WAE. 295 

which developed all the old Yankee theories of tariffs, and 
bounties, and free farms. 

Indeed, the most fruitful study in American politics is tlie 
peculiar materialistic idea of the Yankee. Its developments 
are various, but all held together by the same leading idea: 
superficial notions of civilization; agrarian theories; the sub- 
ordination of the principles of government to trade ; mercantile 
"statesmanship;" the exclusion of moral ideas from politics; 
the reduction of the whole theory of society to the base measure 
of commercial interests. Such are some of the developments 
of the materialistic idea: the last and fullest is the present 
war. 

This war, on the part of the Yankee, is essentially a war of 
interest: hence its negation, on his part, of all principles and 
morals ; hence its adoption of that coarse maxim of commercial 
casuistry, ''Hhe end justifies the laemts j^"* hence its treachery, 
its arts of bad faith, its " cuteness" on all belligerent questions ; 
hence its atrocities which have debased the rules of civilized 
warfare to a code of assassins and brigands. It is true that the 
Korth has affected in this war such sentin)ents as love of the 
Union, reverence of the American nationality, a romantic 
attachment to the old flag. But we repeat that the proof that 
the Korth has fought for coarse, material interests in this war 
is the conduct of the war itself. 

War is horrible ; but it has its laws of order and amelioration. 
Civilization has kindled the dark cloud of horrors with the 
vestal observances of honor ; and the undying lights of human- 
ity have irradiated its aspects — softened the countenance of 
the Giant who 

" On the mountain stands, 
His blood-red tresses deepening in tlie sua, 
With death-shot glowing in his fiery hands." 

But where, in this war of the Yankee, shall we find exhibi- 
tions of the chivalry and amenity of modern belligerents. A 
ghostly echo comes shrieking from fields blackened by fire^ 
and scarred and tormented by the endless scourge of the tyrant. 
The characteristics of the Yankee war are precisely those 
which arise out of the materialistic idea : treachery dignified 
as genius, and cruelty set up to gaze as the grandeur of power.. 



206 TFJE TrilRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 

Tho crooked • woof of treachery — the scarlet thread of the lie — 
have been woven by the Yankee into every part of this war.* 
It is not necessary to unravel here the whole story of Yankee 
falsehood. One instance will sufhcc. The government which, 
at the comniencernent of hostilities, played at the game of con- 
ciliation by affecting to arrest on the streets of its capital, 
Washington, fugitive slaves, and to return them to their mas- 
ters ; wliich, in the first months of the war, declared that it 
" repudiated all designs whatever, and wherever imputed to it, 
of disturbing the system of slavery;" that any such effort 
would be " unconstitutional ; " and that " all acts of the Tres- 
ident in that direction would be prevented by the judicial au- 
thority, even though they were assented to by Congress and 
the people " — for such was the solemn assurance of Mr. Sew- 

* It Ih a curiouH fact, in tin; indisputable records of American Ilifitory, that 
tlu) Keparation of tlie Houtlicrn BtaUss from tlie Union, is defenHible, in all res- 
pcx'.tH ; that in, as an afiH('rtif)n of f^tnte rif/ht/i, and, again, as an assertion of the 
Htill higher prJncii)le of H('-ifgovernm(;nt — on grounds taken by our enemies, 
whiito it HuiUid tlicrn to take Ikone grouiidH. 

With reference to the ground of Stat(! Rights : 

At tho tliird seHsion of tlie Eleventh ('ongress, in 1811, the dissolution of tho 
Union was spoken of for tlu; first time, by a member from th(; Btate of Massa- 
chusetts. 'I'ho bill to form a Constitution and State Oovernment for tlie Terri- 
tory of Orleans, and the admission of such State, under the name of Louisiana, 
into the Union, was undt^r consideration. 

" Mr. Quincy, of MaKBaclmscttH, in opposition to the bill, said : ' I am crjm- 
jxilled t« declari! it as my delibiirate opinifm, that if tliis bill passes, the bonds 
of this Union are virtually dissolved ; that the Statf;s which compose it are free 
from tluur obligations, and that, as it will bo the right of all, m> it will be tho 
duty of some, to priiitare definitely for a separation — amicably, if they can ; 
violently, if th(!y must.' 

" Mr. Quincy was here called to order by Mr. Poindexter. 

"Mr. Quincy repeated and justified the remark he had made, which, to savo 
all miHappreh(!nsion, lie coiuniitled to writing in the following words : 'If 
this bill [jasses, it is my delilxirate ojiinion that it is virtually a dissolution of 
this Union ; tliat it will fn« the States from their moral obligations, and, as it 
will be the right of all, so it will be i\w duty of some, d(;finitely to prepare for 
a sepp.ration — amicably, if they can ; violently, if tlnjy must.' " 

In 1844, the JiCgislature of Massachusetts resfdved that the annexation of 
Texas would be cause of dissoluti<m of the Union. 

With rijference to th(! other, higli<!r ground of Self-Govemment : 

Abraham Lincoln, now i'resident at Washington said : "Any peojile, any- 
where, being inclined and having the jx>wer, have the right to rise up and 
shake off the existing Government, and form a new one that suits them better. 
Nor is this right confined to cases where the jjcople of an existing Oovernment 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 297 

ard's diplomatic circular of 1861 ; which promised the South 
" the Constitution as it was," and recited poetry in Congress 
entreating South Carolina to return to the bosom of the Union 
is to-day found making the boast — rather, we may say, indulg 
ing the fiendish exultation — that it has Abolitionizcd every 
district it has invaded ; that it has forced into military service 
one hundred thousand blacks, stolen from their masters; that 
it has forcil)ly consigned them from peaceful occupations to 
the perils of the battle-field ; and that it has whetted their ig- 
norant and savage natures with an appetite for the blood of 
the white man of the Confederacy. And this stupendous lie is 
called the genius of Yankee statesmanship, and the world is 
asked to applaud it. 

But it is in the atrocious warfare of the enemy that we find 
the most striking instances of his exclusion of that noble 
spirituality common to the great conflicts of civilized nations, 
and the most characteristic evidence of the brutal selfishness 
of his hostilities. The Yankee has never shown mercy in this 
war, and not one touch of refinement from his hand lias re- 
lieved its horrors. The track of his armies has been marked 
by the devouring flame, or by the insatiate plunder and horrid 
orgies of a savage and cowardly foe. The weed-growth of 
Louisiana, where once flourished tlie richest plantations of the 
South ; the desert that stretches from the Big Black to the 



may choose to exercise it. Any p<->rtion of such people that can, may revoln- 
tionizf;, putting down a minority intermingled with or near about them, w}io 
may oppone them." 

In 1800, the New York Tribune, declared: "Whenever a portion of this 
Union large enougli to form an independent, w;lf-8ustaining nation Bhall see fit 
to Bay autlientically to tlie rr-sidue, ' We want to get away from you,' we sliall 
say — and we trust selfrespect, if not regar^ for the principle of s<;]f-govem- 
ment, will cfmstrain the rmdue of the American people to say — Go! " 

At the beginning of the sect^ssion movements, Becretary Seward used the 
following language to Mr. Adams, the United States Minister at Ijondon : 
" For tlx-sti reasons he would not be disp<^>sed to reject a cardinal dogma of 
theirs (the Secessionists), namely, that the Federal Government could not ro 
duce the sewding States to oljedience by c^jnquest, even although he W(;re dis- 
pose^l to question that propr>sition. But in fact the Prc-sident willingly a/wpts 
it a« true. Only an imperial or despotic government could subjugate; thorough- 
ly disaffected and insurrectionary meml>ers of the State. This Federal Repub- 
lican system of ours is, of all forms of government, the very one most unfitted 
for Buch a labor." 



298 THK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Missiseippi, once a beautiful expanse of happy homes ; tlio 
black, mangled belt of territory that, commencing at Harper's 
Ferr}', extends to Fortress Monroe, bound like a ghastly pall 
with the silver fringe of the Potomac ; these are the hideous 
monuments of partial conquest which the Yankee lias com- 
mitted to the memory of tlie world and to tlie inscriptions of 
histoi-y. What has been safe in this war from tlie grasp of his 
plunder or the touch of his desecration ? In the districts of the 
Confederacy where his soldiers liave penetrated they have ap- 
propriated or destroyed private property ; they liave stolen 
even works of art and ornament ; they have plundered churches ; 
they have desecrated the grave and despoiled the emblems 
which love has consecrated to honor. And all this has been 
done according to a peculiar theory of hostilities which makes 
of war a sensual selfishness, and contemplates its objects as a 
savage gain of blood and ])lunder. This is the true and char- 
acteristic conception of the Yankee, lie is taught by his po- 
litical education, by liis long training in the crooked paths of 
thrift, that all the j^rinciples of civilized usage are to be set at 
nougiit, wlien convenience and present policy interfere with 
their fulfilment. 

It is in this sense of narrow, materialistic expediency that 
the Yankee has surrendered his liberties in this war, and pro- 
claimed the enormous doctrine, that the Constitution under 
which he lives, and all his other monuments of liberty, are 
sus})ended by the paramount necessity of conquering and de- 
spoiling the South. lie has carried his commercial politics into 
the war, and trades his own liberties for the material rewards 
of an otherwise vain and fruitless conquest. 

But we leave the subject of the'Yankee to turn to the other 
side of the question, and inquire what new political ideas the 
South has developed in tins war. Here is an extraordinary 
blank. In the new government of the Confederacy we do not 
discover any statesmanshi]), any financial genius, any ideas be- 
yond what are copied from the old effete systems that, it was 
thought, the revolution re])laced. There must be some expla- 
nation of this absence of new ideas, this barren negation in our 
revolution. 

By a misfortune, not easily avoided, the new government of the 
Confederacy fell into the hands of certain prominent partisans, but 



THE THIED TEAR OF THE WAE. 290 

mediocre politicians, wlio made a servile copy of the old Yankee 
Constitution ; wlio had no ideas of political administration 
liiglier than the Washington routine ; and who, by their igno- 
rance and conceit, have blindfolded and staggered the revolu- 
tion from its commencement. This observation gives the key 
to the political history of the Confederacy in this war. A ser- 
vile copy of old ])olitical ideas, an ape of the AVashington ad- 
ministration, without genius, without originality, rejecting the 
counsels of the intelligent, and living in its own little circle of 
conceit, the Confederate government has fallen immeasurably 
below the occasion of this revolution, and misrepresents alike 
its spirit and its object. 

But this weak, negative government of the Confederacy is 
but the early accident of this revolution ; and the people en- 
dure the accident of their present rulers merely from yjatriotic 
scruples which contemplate immediate exigencies. We stand 
but on the threshold of this revolution, and the curtain falls 
over a grand future of new ideas. Those who expect that it 
will terminate with the mere forniality of a treaty with the 
public enemy, and that we shall then have a plodding future 
of peace, a repetition of old political ideas and manners, have 
got their pleasant j)hilosophy from newspaper articles and 
street talk; they have never read the exalted and invariable 
lesson of history, that, on commotions as immense as this war — 
no matter what its particular occasion — there are reared those 
])ew political structures which mark the ages of public prrigress. 
If it was true that this war, with its immense expenditures of 
blood and treasure, was merely to determine the status of 
negroes in the South — merely to settle the so-called Slavery 
quefetion — there is not an intelligent man in the Confederacy 
but would spit upon the sacrifice. If it was true that this ter- 
jible war was merely to decide between two political adminis- 
trations of the same model, then the people of the Confederacy 
would do right to abandon it. 

Political novelty will come soon enough: it is the inevitable 
offspring of such commotions as this war. We repeat, that the 
Confederacy is now barren of political ideas, because those who 
are accidentally its rulers are, without originality or force, 
copyists of old rotten systems, and the apes of routine ; and 
because the public mind of the South ie now too forcibly en- 



300 THE THIRD YEAE OF THE WAE. 

grossed with the publie enemy, either to replace their authority 
or to cliastise their excesses. It is under these peculiar re- 
straints that the Confederacy has produced such little political 
novelty in this war. 

But the revolution is not yet past. Those exalted historical 
inspirations, which, with rapt souls and kindled blood, we read 
in the printed pages of the past, are this day, with trumpet 
sound, at our doors. We live in great times; we are in the 
presence of great events; we stand in the august theatre of a 
national tragedy. This struggle cannot pass away, until the 
great ideas, which the public danger alone holds in abeyance, 
have found a full development and a complete realization ; 
until the South vindicates her reputation for political science 
and eliminates from this war a system of government more 
ingenious than a Chinese copy of Washington. 

But while we thus reflect upon the intellectual barrenness of 
this war, we must not forget that, while the Confederacy in 
this time has produced but few new ideas, it has brought out 
troops of virtues. In this respect, the moral interest of the war 
is an endless theme for the historian ; and we may be pardoned 
for leaving our immediate subject to say a few words of those 
fields of grandeur in which the Confederacy has found com- 
pensation for all other short-comings, and stands most conspic- 
uous before the world. 

We have put into the field soldiers such as the -world has 
seldom seen — men who, half-clothed and half-fed, have, against 
superior numbers, won two-thirds of the battles of this war. 
The material of the Confederate army, in social worth, is sim- 
ply superior to all that is related in the military annals of man- 
kind. Men of wealth, men accustomed to the fashions of polite 
Bociet}', men who had devoted their lives to learned professions 
and polished studies, have not hesitated to shoulder their mus- 
kets and fight as privates in the ranks with the hard-fisted and 
uncouth laborer, no less a patriot than themselves. Our army 
presents to the world, perliaps, the only example of theoretical 
socialism reduced to practice it has ever seen, and realizes, at 
least in respect of defensive arras, the philosopher's dream of 
fraternal and sympathetic equality. 

The hero of this war is the private soldier : not the officer 
whose dress is embroidered with lace, and whose name gar- 



THE TIIIUD YKAR OF THE WAR. 801 

nishes the gazette, but the humble and lionest patriot of the 
South in liis dirt-stained and sweat-stained clothes, who toils 
through pain and hunger and peril ; who has no reward but in 
the satisfaction of good deeds ; who throws his poor, unknown 
life awaj at the cannon's mouth, and dies in that single flash 
of glorj. IIow many of these heroes have been laid in un- 
marked ground — the nameless graves of self-devotion. But 
the ground where they rest is in the sight of Heaven, Noth- 
ing kisses their graves but the sunlight; nothing mourns for 
them but the sobbing wind ; nothing adorns their dust but the 
wild flowers that have grown on the bloody crust of the battle- 
field. But not a Southern soldier has fallen in this war with- 
out the account of Heaven, and Death makes its registry of 
the pure and the brave on the silver pages of immortal life. 

It is said that some of our people in this war have cringed 
beneath disaster, and compromised with misfortune. These 
are exceptions : they may be sorrowful ones. But in this war 
the people of the Confederacy, in the mass, have shown a for- 
titude, an elasticity under reverse, a temperance in victory, a 
self-negation in misfortune, a heroic, hopeful, patient, enduring, 
working resolution, which challenge the admiration of the 
world. It is not only material evils which have been thus 
endured : the scourge of tyranny, the bitterness of exile, the 
dregs of poverty. But the most beautiful circumstance of all 
is the strange resignation of our people in that worst trial and 
worst agony of war — the consignment of the living objects of 
their love to the bloody altars of sacrifice. These are the real 
horrors of war, and patriotism has no higher tribute to pay 
than the brave and uncomplaining endurance of such agony. 

How have we been resigned in this war to the loss of our 
loved ones ! How many noble sorrows are in our hearts ! 
How many skeletons are in our closets ! War may ruin and 
rifle the homestead ; may scatter as chaff" in the wind the prop 
erty of years ; may pronounce the doom of exile — but all these 
are paltry afflictions in comparison with the bereavement of 
kindred, whose blood has been left on the furze of the field and 
the leaves of the forest, and whose uncoffined bones are scat- 
tered to the elements. 

The virtues and passions of the South in this war are not 
idle sentimentalisms. They are the precursors of new and illus- 



302 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAE. 

trioiis ideas — the sure indications of a new political growth. 
In tlie warmth of such passions are born noble and robust ideas. 
Thus we await the development of tliis war in ideas, in politi- 
cal structures, in laws, which will honor it, and for which we 
shall not unduly pay the dreadful price of blood. 

It is impossible that a nation should have suffered as the 
South has in this struggle ; should have adorned itself with 
such sacrifices ; should have illustrated such virtues, to relapse, 
at the end, into the old routine of its political existence. "We 
have not poured ont our tears — we have not made a monu- 
ment of broken hearts — we have not kneaded the ground with 
human flesh, merely for the poor negative of a peace, with 
nought higher or better than things of the past. Not so does 
nature recompense the martyrdom of individuals or of nations : 
it pronounces the triumph of resurrection. 

We believe that a new name is to be inscribed in the Pan- 
theon of history ; not that of an old idolatry. All now is ruin 
and confusion, but from the scattered elements will arise a new 
spirit of beauty and order. All now is dark, but the cloud will 
break, and in its purple gates will stand the risen Sun. 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAE. 303 



'■} 



BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS* 

Field op the Batte of the Ny, 
May 18, 1864. 

The works occupied by Lee's army on the Rapidan extend- 
ed on the right three miles below Raccoon ford. Ewell's 
corps and Hill's lay behind those defences, and stretched out 
on each side of Orange Court-house, along a line of twenty 
miles. Longstreet, having returned from Eastern Tennessee, 
occupied the country around Gordonsville, thirteen miles 
southwest of the position on the Rapidan. Such had been the 
disposition of the army of Northern Yirginia during the latter 
part of April. 

Grant, having declined to assail Lee's front, determined to 
turn it by a movement on that officer's right. He marched 
eastwardly from his cantonments in the country of Culpepper ; 
and, having reached that river seven miles lower down, at 
Germania ford, and also seven miles still lower down, at 
Ely's ford, crossed the Rapidan. The campaign in ^Northern 
Virginia, fraught, as it was, with the fate of the Confederate 
States and the United States, took thus its initial form on the 
3d of May. 

From Orange Court-house two roads — the turnpike and the 
plank road — run on a line somewhat north of east to Freder- 
icksburg. Those two routes are in general parallel. The 
plank road consists of one track of worn planking, and another 
of earth ; its course, very irregular, vibrates in and out on the 
south side of the generally straight line, known as the turn- 
pike. A plank way runs from Culpepper Court-house to Ger- 
mania ford. Extending south-easterly, it crosses the turnpike; 
and after a route of four or live miles beyond that, terminates 
on the Orange and Fredericksburg plank-road. Beside these 
main lines several others traverse the country around the 

* We insert here the London Herald correspondent's account of the Battle 
of the Wilderness. 



304 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

battlc-flcld of the Wilderness — some pursuing a course par- 
allel with these, some crossing them more or less transverely. 

Grant's columns advanced from the Ivapidan on the 3d of 
May. That which marched from Ely's ford followed an 
earthen way, leading to the junction of the Orange and Fred- 
ericksburg plank-road with the plank-road extending from 
Culpej)pcr Court-house, by way of Germania ford ; while the 
other column moved down the latter route to the same point. 
That junction once gained, not only had the position of Lee on 
the Ka[)idan been turned, but several roads to Richmond 
would have been laid open. 

Ewell's corps having been encamped on Lee's right, moved 
castwardly on the -itli. A few of his brigades remained be- 
hind for a day guarding some of the fords across the Rapidan. 
Johnson's division, having the advance, followed the turnpike, 
and encamped for tlie night within three miles of a stream 
flowing northwardly — Wilderness Run; Rodes, next in the 
order of march, lay in his rear along the same route; and 
Early, who had moved from Ewell's left at Sumerville ford, 
encamped for the night a little behind Locust Grove. The 
Second corps had thus reached, on the night of the 4th, a po- 
sition from which it stood ready to strike on the following 
morning the flank of Grant's column of advance. 

Johnson moved with his division at the head of Ewell's 
corps on the 5th. Having thrown skirmishers out into the 
woods on either side of the turnpike he discovered those of the 
enemy at about six o'clock in the morning. The musketry on 
each side deepening, he pressed forward with General J. M. 
Jones's brigade to gain a hill in his front ; and having, after 
a brief struggle, driven back a heavy line of sharpshooters 
from that position, j^roceeded to form his troops in line of 
battle. 

The thicket on all sides of the two armies excluded the use 
of artillery, save only for the width of the turnpike. Jones's 
brigade had been formed but a moment across that road when 
the enemy advanced in what of order is practicable in a 
tangled forest. He approached with a heavy line of skir- 
mishers, followed by a solid column extending across the 
whole of Lee's front, four lines deep. Stewart's and Stafibrd's 
brigades proceeded to form rapidly on Jones's left. To guard 



TIIK TIIIKD YKAR OF THE WAR. 305 

against the danger of an overlapping breadth of attack, tho 
brigade of General Walker, whieh, having nursed the geniua 
of Jiickson, is known as the "Stonewall," formed at some dis- 
tance from Stafford's left flank, covering it by a front at right 
angles to that officer's line. In this position the division of 
General Edward Johnson, of Ewell's corps, stood on the 
morning of the Stii to receive the enemy's onslaught. 

Johnson's skirmishers were driven in. Those of the enemy 
took position in the advancing column. The Fifth corps of 
the Federal army, accompanied by two pieces of artillery, that 
came thundering along the turnpike, assailed the Confederate 
line at the intersection of that road. Ileceiving, as it ad- 
vanced, a terrible fusilade without any sign of wavering, tho 
rear ranks pressing forward those of the front, the attacking 
masses delivered from a forest of rifles a fast and furious fire 
upon Johnson's line. Closing in upon it with great Bi)irit in 
front, and threatening to envelop it on its right, they suc- 
ceeded, after a brief struggle, in forcing back part of the bri- 
gade that had been formed across the turnpike — that of Gen- 
eral J. M. Jones. Two of his regiments — the Twenty-first 
Virginia, commanded by Colonel Witcher, and the Twenty- 
fifth by Colonel lligginbotham — holding tlieir ground reso- 
lutely. Jones strove in desperutiun to rally his broken troops. 
Threatening, entreating, shaming, were of no avail in arresting 
their disordered flight ; and as he saw his men rushing from 
the field in hopeless confusion he fell from his saddle a bleed- 
ing corpse. Captain Early, of his staft*, unwilling to desert 
him, had but a few moments previously wheeled his Iku-so 
from its retreat ; but only to share with his gallant chief, 
while in the act, the same red burial. 

Stewart moved from his position in the line of battle to close 
the gap left in it by the brigade of Jones. As the Federal 
masses poured through, his men rushed forward with a cheer; 
and, driving them back by the impetus of his charge, cap- 
tured their guns. 

Alniost simultaneous with the first signs of weakness in 
Jones's line, Daniel's brigade of North Carolinians, and (ior- 
don's brigade of Georgians, both of Rodes' division, were 
placed rapidly in line upon the right. Ordered immediately 
afterward by General Ewell to charge, Gordon, holding coni- 

20 



306 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAK. 

mand of the movement, crushed through the enemy's first 
lines and captured as he went forward a whole regiment, men, 
officers, and colors. Driving onward furiously he struck back 
the Federal front in confusion upon its supports; and scatter- 
ine: both like leaves before a storm, forced them off the field 
in utter route for a mile and a half. His front thus cleared, 
Gordon found the enemy's lines firm on both of his wings. 
Dividing his men into two bodies he formed them at right an- 
gles to the lines of his original advance, and sending them 
both forward back to back, took the masses on his right and 
on his left in flank. Pressing on them so energetically as to 
have prevented their formation across either of his lines of 
movement, he swept them in disorder from the Confederate 
front for a width of a mile. 

At the moment of Gordon's brilliant charge the enemy at- 
tacked the brigade of General Stafford. A deadly conflict on 
that part of tlie field raged for some time doubtfully. The 
marksmanship of Stafford's Louisianians, however, shot truly 
to the buckles of the Federal belts, and strewed the field with 
death and agony. Reeling under its deliberate fire, the enemy 
finally fled, marking his route with his killed and wounded, 
and adding to his other disasters the loss of six hundred pris- 
oners. In this repulse, however, the Confederates have to 
mourn the loss of Brigadier-general Stafford. He fell mortally 
wounded. He had been a planter of Louisiana ; but having 
gone through most of the battles in Northern Virginia, had be- 
come an excellent officer, and was not more beloved by his men 
for his gentleness than he was admired by them for his daring. 

Soon after the onslauglit upon the Confederate front the 
Sixth corps of the Federal army advanced upon its left flank. 
Coming up at right angles to the line of movement of the 
Fifth corps, its skirmishers were encountered by those thrown 
out in anticipation of attack in that direction, from the Stone- 
wall brigade. Sedgwick, commanding this movement on 
Johnson's flank, soon afterward threw the whole weight of his 
dense column upon those stout souls ; but, though threatening 
to envelop it on the left, failed to force back the men who had 
learned heroic constancy from Jackson. Sorely pressed, how- 
ever, Pegram's Yirginians and Hays' Louisianians deployed 
rapidly on their left. Charging immediately upon the Federal 



THE TITIED YEAR OF THE WAK. 307 

right, those fresh troops drove it back. The furious onslaught 
of Ilays' men did not expend itself until they had forced the 
enemy to retreat in confusion for nearly a mile. In advance 
of all others on that face of the attack, these splendid troops, 
having left nearly one- third of their number on the field, fell 
back with Pegram's gallant men to the general line of 
battle. 

The enemy routed with great slaughter from all points of 
his advance, Ewell proceeded to select ground for the mor- 
row's battle. Assisted by General Smith, of the engineers, he 
reviewed his position, and proceeded at once to cover his front 
with a line of fieldworks and an abattis of felled trees. Skir- 
mishing continued murderously outside the lines. Immediately 
, before the close of the evening, the skirmishers of General 
Pegram, on Johnson's left, came running in, and soon after- 
wards his sharpshooters sprang back from their rifle-pits in 
his immediate front. A column, three Hues deep, moved upon 
him from the depths of the forest, and, firing heavily as 
they came on, pressed towards his works furiously. Ilis 
staunch Yirginians, however, met the attack resolutely, and, 
covered partially by their works, hurled volley after volley 
in withering blasts, breast high, into its serried ranks. 

The Moloch of the North had, iiowever, not yet been sated. 
In five lines a column renewed the attack after nightfall ; but 
did BO without other result than to increase terribly the hun- 
dreds of men that, dead or dying outside the Confederate 
works^, lay weltering in their gore. Pegram fell in this last 
attack severely wounded. The repulse which he guided as he 
fell, closed the work of war for the day on tiie left, and wit- 
nessed the Confederates still in possession of their improved 
position and advanced lines. 

Hill was ordered to march, on the 4th, from Lee's left. 
Anderson's division remained behind for the time to guard 
some fords in its front ; Iletli, followed by Wilcox, moved 
eastwardly, through Orange Court-house, along the Fredericks- 
burg plank-road. Tiie divisions of these two officers bivou- 
acked for the night near Verdicrsville. lieth in advance, they 
resumed their march on the following day, still pursuing the 
line of the plank-road. 

The ring of small arms on the right announced, in the course 



308 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

of the morning of the 5th, a small cavalry aifair near the route 
of Hill's column. The march still, however, continued, until it 
encountered some dismounted cavalry ; but after a moment's 
pause, brushing those from its way, still went forward. At 
one o'clock musketry was again heard in front; and, though at 
first thought to indicate the presence of merely a party of cav- 
alry, proved, after some skii-mishing, to have come from a largo 
body of infantry. Kirtland's brigade, of Ileth's division, de- 
ployed immediately on both sides of the plank-road ; and the 
whole colunm proceeded to form in line of battle on its flanks; 
while the sharpshooters of both armies kept up in front a de- 
sultory and somewhat languid fire. 

Hill's advance followed, on the plank-road, while Ewell'a 
pursued the turnpike. Parallel lines in their general direction, 
these movements stood at the time of the deployment of Mirt- 
land's brigade, from three to four miles apart. The country 
intervening, and round about for several miles, is knoM-n as the 
" Wilderness," and having very few " clearings," consists 
almost Avholly of a forest of dense undergrowth. The enemy, 
apparently bewildered by the cliaracter of the site of the ap- 
proaching conflict, sent out scouts and skirmishers in every 
direction from his front. Eight or ten of these having strayed 
in between the column of Hill and that of Ewell, came into an 
open field in which they might have shot, as he sat with Gen- 
eral Hill and other ofticers on the ground, that idol of the 
army. General Lee. Those adventurous blue-coats, finding 
themselves in front of two brigades of "Wilcox's division, made 
a rapid retreat, ignorant, most happily, that a very precious 
life lay for a moment at the mercy of their rifles. 

The interpolation of those skirmishers between his two coif 
umns, suggested to General Lee the necessity of opening com- 
munications with Ewell. Captain Hotchkiss of the engineers 
of the Second corps, having come up immediately afterwards, 
indicated the route for that purpose ; and Wilcox's division 
moving accordingly to the left — having captured two hundred 
of the enemy on the way — eftected, after a march of a mile 
and a quarter, a junction with Gordon's brigade, on Ewell's 
extreme right. The line of battle, thus completed, extended 
from the right of the plank-road through a succession of open 
fields and dense forest to the left of the turnpike. It presented 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 309 

a front of six miles ; and, with Flat creek in its rear, occupied 
a very irregular plane along the broken slopes of a broad ridgo 
that rises from the stream known as Wilderness run. The 
thicket that lay along the whole face of the Confederate array 
is so impenetrable as to have excluded the use of artillery by 
the enemy, save only for the breadth of those openings where 
it is penetrated on the left by the old turnpike, and on the 
right by the plank-road. 

The attack on Ewell having been repulsed, musketry began 
at half-past two to deepen in volume in front of Hill. Large 
columns of the enemy, enveloped in clouds of dust, were seen 
at that time moving up from the rear in the direction of the 
deafening fire. Possession of the intersection of the plank- 
road from Germania ford, with that from Orange Court-house, 
opening, as it would, a favorable line for Federal advance 
southwardly, was shown, by the enemy's movements, to be 
about to become the sui)ject of a bloody encounter. 

Ileth's skirmishers were driven in about three o'clock. 
They were followed closely by a heavy column that appeared 
to move forward spiritedly. Firing with great rapidity as it 
advanced, its musketrj^, in the ears of a man approaching the 
field of battle, rolled through the depths of the forest like the 
roar of mighty waters. Ilesolute defence on the one hand, and 
on the other the attack that sought to force its way rather by 
constant pressure than by dashing enterprise, the struggle in 
Hill's front continued for two or three hours, unbroken in its 
terrible monotony by even any disturbance of the rapid regu- 
larity with which it added to its masses of grim death or mor- 
tal agony. 

Ileth's division bore, at first, the whole brunt of the Federal 
onslaught. The heavy columns pressing so obstinately upon 
its front failed to break its heroic constancy. Thick and fast 
its men crept to the rear, bleeding, or dropping in the ranks, 
dead — but still it gave no sign of yielding. One-half of its 
number of the morning had been placed hovs du comhat. The 
weight of the immsense masses hurled against it having excited 
in Lieutenant-general Hill some fears for its solidity, orders 
were sent to Wilcox to come up with his division from Ewell's 
right, at the double-quick. That gallant officer arrived at four 
o'clock, while the roar of the rifles in front, accompaiued by 



310 TTIB TiriRD YKAR OF THE WAR. 

the thunder of four or five guns on the plank-road, declared 
,. the combat to bo one of extraordinary fierceness. 

Wilcox, guided by the heaviness of the fire, placed his lead- 
ing brigade in rear of lleth's centre, and deployed it to the 
right and to the left of the plank-road. The conflict soon 
afterwards deepening in that direction, he next formed his 
second brigade, as it arrived upon the field, on the left flank ; 
but had no sooner drawn it up in line of battle than it became 
exposed to musketry so completely in reverse as to have 
•wounded some of his men in the back. Changing front 
instantly to the rear, and swinging round his left, he found 
himself confronted by a Federal line of battle. 

Reasoning from the crushing weight of the musketry in 
lleth's front, Wilcox drew up another of his brigades in that 
oflicer's rear, on the right of the plank-road. The hoarse roll 
of the fire extending subsequently in that direction, he placed 
his last brigade for the protection of that flank, in extension of 
lleth's array on the extreme right. Two of Wilcox's brigades 
lay there in reserve, in rear of the centre, while another occu- 
pied each of the two flanks of the line of battle. The terrible- 
ness of the Federal musketry at this moment was such that, 
having torn a section of the trunk utterly to shreds, it actually 
cut down a white oak-tree having a diameter of eighteen 
inches. 

The losses in lleth's division had become so heavy that 
Wilcox's brigades in reserve were moved at about half-past 
five to the front. McGowan's South Carolinians thus brought 
into action, their gallant chief, im})atient of delay, leaped his 
horse over a rank that had lain down to let his men pass. 
Spurring forward, waving his sword as he went, he was fol- 
lowed by his brigade with a clieer ; and plunging immediately 
into the depths of the conflict, drove back the enemy by his 
impetuous dash for several hundred yards. Wilcox, seeing 
the Federal lines on each side of the breadth of that charge of 
the fiery South Carolinians stand firm, became apprehensive 
for their safety, and, ordering them at once to fall back, 
placed them in the position assigned them in the array of bat- 
tle. The murderous conflict raged in fierce monotony until 
night closed over the Confederate line in the position it had 
originally taken. The prisoners captured included men from 



THE THIRD YKAR OF THE WAE. 311 

the Sixth, the Second, and tlic Fil'lh corps; and tliia fact 
points to tlic sui)positi()ii that the o-uliant divisions of Iletli and 
Wilcox actually held at bay, from three o'clock until half-past 
seven, three corps of the Federal army. 

Heth's division was ordered durin^j the ni<i;ht of the 5th to 
go to the rear as a reserve. Lane's, Scales's, McCowan's, and 
Thomas's brigades, constituting the division of General Wil- 
cox — occupied the front. Yidettes were sent out, but ventured 
only a short distance from the line of battle. The two armies 
lay, indeed, so close to each other throughout the night as to 
be within easy ear-shot. A small stream on the Confederate 
left constituted their mutual supply of water, and was so near 
both that men from either side going out to fill their canteens 
from it were very often captured by souie from the other. 
Colonel Baldwin, of the First Massachusetts regiment, more 
thirsty than prudent, became in that way a tenant of JJbby 
prison. 

Longstreet's corps, it will be recollected, lay, on the 3d, 
thirteen miles southwest of the position on the Jiai)idan. Or- 
dered forward by General Lee, it marched from the neighbor- 
hood of Gordonsville on the morning of the 4th. On the night 
^f the 5th it halted within twelve miles of the field of the bat- 
tle of that day. Intending to follow a road known as the 
Catharpcn, with a view to a movement upon the enemy's left 
flank, it became necessary, under the rapid developments of 
Grant's masses of attack, to call it to the support of the front. 
Its in\irepid chief, informed after midnight of the danger of 
Hill's corps, was ordered to move up to the plank-road, with 
the view of meeting the renewal of the shock of the Fifth upon 
the right. Breaking up his bivouac, Longstreet commenced 
his march about 2 o'clock in the morning to the field of battle. 

General Lee concluding, reasonably, that a feint upon the 
left would occupy sufiicient time to delay the attack on the 
right until the arrival and deployment of Longstreet's men, 
regarded the state of things, on the dawn of the 6th, without 
alarm. Wilcox had, however, looked anxiously throughout 
the night for the coming of the divisions of Anderson and 
Field ; and, disappointed in the delay of their arrival, began 
at daybreak to cover his front by an abattis of felled trees. 
The men employed for that purpose were immediately fired 



312 THE TIIIUD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

upon by tlic enemy's skirmishers; and, in the next moment, 
ruslied to their rifles, before the advance of an attack in heavy 
colmnn. The Federals had spent the night in securing good 
positions for their onslaught of the morning ; and, coming now 
in great force from points threatening Ilcth's and Wilcox's en- 
velopment, forced the gallant divisions of those officers to 
waver. Shattered in strength by the terrible struggle of the 
day before, and having already maintained a resistance for 
three-quarters of an hour against numbers absolutely crushing, 
they finally gave way. Continuing at first a desultory fire as 
they retreated, the right wing, south of the plank-road, broke 
into disorder, and finally fled in confusion before the enemy's 
overwhelming columns. 

"Wilcox, seeing his lines shattered hopelessly, rushed back to 
report to General Hill. The Federalists pressed forward so 
vigorously that he had but arrived at that point, when he 
looked back, to behold his disordered ranks surging already 
M'ithin one hundred and fifty yards of the position of General 
Lee. The head of McLaw's fine division of Longstreet's corps 
came up immediately, under the command of Brigadier-gen- 
eral Kersha\v, and so outspoken was the augury of victoiy in 
its flashing eyes, that its appearance bound up at once tli# 
M'ounded spirits of Ileth and Wilcox, as they writhed in the 
presence of General Lee, under a reverse which that officer de- 
clared, during the day, had illuminated their previous struggle 
with unflinching constancy. 

Apprehension was for a moment entertained that the rapid 
movement and heavy fire of the enemy's advance would pre- 
vent the deployment of the approaching colums in line. Ker- 
shaw's own brigade of South Carolinians and Humphrey's 
brigade of Mississippians, having the advance of Longstreet's 
corps, had the honor to be first to form. Drawing up across 
the })lank-road — thus covering the trains, the artillery, and the 
shattered retreat of Ileth and Wilcox — they at once checked 
the enemy's advance, in the teeth of a fire in which they stood 
firin, as though it were a storm of mere hail. Their resistance, 
it was, however, feared at the time, could not be maintained 
for many minutes. Their front swept by a tempest of bullets, 
they were threatened, on their right flank, with envelopment. 
Tiieir heroic firmness triumphed, however; for the ring of 



THE THIRD YEAR OF TUE WAR. 813 

tlicir rifles had, before lonj^, whirred its death-rattle in so 
many a Federal heart, that the assailants began, after a while, 
to recoil. 

Other brigades having, in the mean time, begun to drop into 
line on the right, the enemy was soon after checked at all 
points; and tlie tide of battle commenced, after a short time, 
to roll slowly back. 

McLaw's division once in line, under Kershaw, Fields' men 
formed on as they came up. Anderson's 8})lendid fellows, left 
by (leiieral Hill to guard i'ords in the rear of the march from 
the Kapidan, soon came in a rush, commanded by (leneral Ma- 
hone ; they deployed immediately in array of battle. Breadth 
and weight thus given to Lee's front the fortunes of the day 
quickly turned. The Confederate line moved majestically for- 
ward in the teeth of a bloody and stubborn opposition. Gen- 
eral Longstreet rushed forward with his staff to take his place 
at the head of the advance; and was received as he passed 
along the moving mass with thunders of applause. General 
Jenkins, spurring to his side, grasped his hand in a glow of 
pleasure; and the whole scene was one of universal rejoicing. 

Their faces glowing, the horses prancing, the cavalcade sur- 
rounding the Lieutcnant-General had, however, not ])assed 
more than a hundred yards in advjince of the column, when 
their mood was sobered into profound regret. One of the 
brigades of the flanking force, heated with the work of de- 
struction that they had executed so splendidly, mistook the 
glad gPoup of horsemen that came prancing along the plank 
road, for a party of the flying foe. It poured into them at 
short range a deadly fire ! Poor Jenkins fell instantly from 
his horse with a bullet in his pulseless brain ! An enthusiastic 
Bon of South Carolina, he was beloved by his troops for his 
fine qualities, as a man and an officer. Longstreet received 
a ball that entered his throat and passed out through his right 
shoulder. Jileeding like an ox, he was helped from liis horse 
60 prostrated that fears were entertained of his immediate 
death. Major Walton, a gallant Mississippian on his staff, 
threw open his vest and shirt collar, and found great relief in 
discovering that he was mistaken in supposing that the ball 
had cut the carotid artery. Placed on a litter the wounded 
general was removed from the field ; but feeble though he 



314 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

was from loss of blood, he did not fail to lift his hat from time 
to time as he passed down the column, in acknowledgment 
of its cheers of applause and sympathy. 

The column of advance deployed into line. Some of Fields' 
and McLaws' men had already encountered and driven back 
the enemy on the left of the plank-road, when Anderson's 
division of Hill's corps was ordered to their support. The 
brigade of Alabamians has illuminated the name of Wilcox ; 
having come up first in the order of march, it was placed rapidly 
by its chief, General Perrin, in the position of Laws' brigade 
of Fields' division, its right resting on the plank-road. It had 
hardly taken its place when the enemy, who had been previ- 
ously driven back in fine style by Law, came up again, and, 
under a terrible fire from Perrin's rifles, retreated with pre- 
cipitation. Penewing his advance, he once more emerged 
from the forest, but contented himself with quick and wild 
firing, as he lay down at a distance of a hundred and fifty 
yards from the front of the Confederate line. The Federal 
officers were heard at that moment urging their men to rise 
and charge. Their left pressed up to within a distance of 
seventy-five yards, but the deadly minie cut their close front 
into shreds ; they fled, after a struggle of ten minutes, in utter 
confusion. Flinging away knapsacks, cartridge boxes, mus- 
kets, and blankets, the attacking party seemed stricken with 
terror, as well it might have been, in a field where the dead 
lay so thickly — sometimes one upon another — as to have traced 
out distinctly the line of the array in which they stood at the 
moment of their death. 

A struggle equally sanguinary with that on the left of the 
plank-road raged at the same time on its right. In the mean 
time, however, a force had been sent out with the design 
of turning the enemy's flank on that side. That move- 
ment was, however, found, after a long march, to be 
impracticable. Triumphant on both sides of the plank-way, 
Lee decided on an attack in front. Perrin having just 
moved by the left flank sufficiently far to admit those 
troops between his right and the plank road, Benning's bri- 
gade, of Field's division, and Kershaw's, of McLaw's division, 
formed upon his right. Their line extended from the road- 
way at right angles. Perrin and Laws drawn up in array ot 



THE THIRD YEAK OF THE WAR. 315 

battle parallel with the road, lay, at the moment of the ad- 
vance, transversely in the rear of Perrin's left. Right and left 
of the pLank-road the Confederates began to move forward. 
Kershaw, Benning, and Perrin, finding the enemy, pushed on- 
ward, freely swinging around their left somewhat adventur- 
ously into the unknown depths of the forest through which 
they moved. 

In the mean time Federal ikirmishers springing from tree to 
tree as they came on with a heavy fire, drove in those of Perry 
and Law. Followed in hot haste by a blue line of battle, the 
whole pressed back the brigades of those officers with great 
spirit towards the plank-road. Alarmed by the firing going on 
during that movement in the rear of his left, Perrin sent his 
adjutant, Captain Wynne, to communicate on tlie subject with 
General Harris. That gallant fellow, seeing that no time was 
to be lost, rushed with his impetuous Mississippians on the 
face of the advancing attack and succeeded in driving it back 
handsomely for a sufiicient distance to give protection to the 
rear of Kershaw and Benning. Perrin — on the extreme left, 
be it recollected — stood still, exposed to imminent danger. 

As the whole breadth of the line from the plank-way retired, 
he endeavored at the same time to swing back his exposed 
wing, but found it suddenly enfiladed by the fire of the 
enemy's skirmishers. His position became critical. Captain 
Wynne led ofi" two regiments from the exposed flank ; and had 
placed them in position in the rear just as Davis's fine brigade 
of Mississippians came sweeping up to complete, by connect- 
ing with Harris's right, the protection of the whole ti-ansverse 
front, Harris and Davis having thus saved, by a timely move- 
ment, the three brigades on the left, the artillery trains, &c., 
on that highway, and the line of the plank-road. The enemy 
foiled in his design fell back, after a brief encounter, from 
their front. The symmetry of the Confederate line was re- 
stored, subsequently in the day, by the disposition of Hill's 
whole corps on Longstreet's right. 

The forward movement progressed on the right of the plank- 
road while events were thus threatening it on the left. Long- 
street's men on that part of the field moved forward, went on 
for some distance without finding the enemy, until S. T. An- 
derson's brigade of Georgians coming on, an array of battle in 



316 THE TflIRD TEAK OF THE WAR. 

Federal blue rushed at it with such impetuosity as to have be- 
come almost immediately master of the fieldworks. Tlie sin- 
gle; line of this attack was, however, too weak to hold wliat it 
had so handsomely won ; and having been, as is too often the 
case in those apparently ill-advised charges of the Confeder- 
ates, nnsupported, was compelled, by the concentration of a 
crushing force in its front, to retire. 

Tiie work of war on the ri<^lit %as done. So alarminor had 
been the aspect of the field at one time that, fearing for the 
constancy of his troops. General Lee had, as Fields ' division 
came under fire, placed himself at the head of Greggs' brigade 
of Texans. Ordering them, in that devotion which constitutes 
the great charm of his character, to follow him in a charge 
upon the triumphant line that came sweeping down npon him 
over the debris of Heth's and Wilcox's divisions, Longstreet 
protested against such an exposure of a life so valuable. A 
grim and ragged soldier of the line raised his voice in deter- 
mined remonstrance, and M'as immediately followed by the 
rank and file of the whole brigade in positive refusal to ad- 
vance until their beloved general-in-chief had gone to his 
proper position in the rear. 

Yielding to their toucliing solicitude, and thus terminating 
one of the most remarkable incidents in the war, General Lee 
retired, and well did Gregg's gallant fellows fulfil the promise 
by which they urged his withdrawal, by rushing wildly for- 
ward through a tempest of bullets with a fury which nothing 
could withstand. All the ground that had been lost was re- 
covered, the enemy driven, routed, into his intrenchments, the 
Confederate lines advanced threateningly so far as to hem him 
closely in, and thus, almost hopeless as its fortunes at one time 
appeared to be, the second day of the battle of the Wilderness 
terminated around the Southern Cross of the right wing in 
bloody triumph. 

The 6th of May opened on Evvell's front with Rodes' divi- 
sion on the right of the turnpike, Johnson's on the other side 
of that road, and Early's still to the left. In the morning a 
column of attack came up in front of Pegram's brigade, and o5 
part of Johnson's division ; and attempting to force its way, 
pressed that part of the line heavily. Reinforced by a few 
regiments from Gordon's brigade, the Confederates, with un- 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 317 

flinching solidity, hurled the onslaught back, mangled and 
bleeding. Again, however, and yet again, the obstinate masses 
renewed their advance, until, the line of their movement 
strewed thickly with the evidences of the terrors in their way, 
they finally shrank from an encounter that had proved so dis- 
astrous. 

The battle on the left appeared, after the repulse of the 
morning, to hang fire. Direct advance so sternly repelled, the 
enemy determined to make a movement on Ewell's flank. 
Wilcox's division having been withdrawn the day before for 
the support of Heth, the two wings of Lee's army continued 
Btill unconnected; and through the space thus open Buniside 
moved a force at about two o'clock, with the view of crushing 
our line from right to left. Ewell, who is gifted with the in- 
stincts of a military genius, stood, however, prepared at all 
points. As the flanking force of the enemy came up, moving 
perpendicularly to Rodes' line of battle, a battalion of sharp- 
shooters, from Ramsaur's brigade of North Carolinians, follow- 
ing their bold commander. Major Osborne, had the audacity 
to charge a whole division of the Federal army. A whole 
division of the Federal army advancing on that handful of men, 
fled before Osborne's fellows at the top of their speed, leaving 
behind it in its flight all its knapsacks, and as many as fifteen 
hundred of its muskets. Burnside's movement against Ewell's 
right flank, thus defeated by an amusing boldness, a repetition 
of such an enterprise was prevented by an immediate junction 
with the line of battle that had just been restored on the right 
wing. 

The extreme left was held by the Georgians of General Gor- 
don. Our line at that part of the field extended beyond the 
enemy's right for the width of a brigade-front. Gordon, anx- 
ious to eujploy this advantage, urged that he be allowed to use 
it for a moment against the Federal flank. Ewell and Early 
yielding to his repeated representations, finally gave him the 
order to move. The sun was, however, at that instant, about 
to set ; and but a limited time remained, therefore, for the ex- 
ecution of an enterprise so important. But Gordon's men 
moved briskly out of their works ; and, forming at right angles 
to their previous position, moved forward in line of battle, sup- 
ported by R. D. Johnston's brigade of North Carolinians. In 



318 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

complete surprises they struck the enemy's flank ; and crush- 
ing his array as they swept forward majestically, drove every- 
thing before them like chaff before the wind. Brigade after 
brigade fled from the Federal works, and, attempting, one after 
another, to wheel around into line in order to check the ad- 
vance, was borne back under the rapidit}'- of Gordon's move- 
ment before the seething mass that struggled down upon it in 
utter rout. 

Gordon swept all before him for a distance along the enemy's 
line of two miles. The forest through which he advanced was 
60 dense with undergrowth, that by the setting in of nightfall 
he had become separated from his supports. Pegram's bri- 
gade paused, however, after nightfall, upon his left. He paused 
before he had completed a movement that, if undertaken ear- 
lier in the day, would have completely routed at least the 
Federal right. The enterprise, notwithstanding its incomplete- 
ness, was crowned with brilliant success. The Confederate 
loss in that service numbered, in killed and wounded, but 
twenty-seven. To the enemy, the results involved terrible 
slaughter. Four hundred Federalists were buried next day in 
the ground over which that admirable movement had been 
made. 

The field for two miles in extent was strewn with trophies, 
flung wildly away — knapsacks, blankets, cartouche-boxes, cook- 
ing utensils, and even large supplies of abandoned rations. 
The route was one of indescribable panic. The woods in front 
were alive with masses of men struggling to escape with life. 
The Sixth corps of the Army of the Potomac was so com- 
pletely broken up that, unable to restore its spirit, Gordon 
bivouacked for the night in its immediate front, in undisturbed 
repose. A brilliant stroke thus closed on Ewell's front the 
second day of the battle of the Wilderness in a crowning 
triumph. 

Victory smiled during the night of the 6th of May on the 
warriors that lay sleeping, from right to left, behind Lee's 
works. The losses of the Confederates in killed, wounded, and 
missing, do not exceed, for the two days, six thousand. 

The results to the enemy in some parts of the field cannot be 
described by any word less forcible than massacre. Eleven 
hundred and twenty-five Federal dead were buried in front of 



THK THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 319 

Swell's line lying to the left of the turnpike. Five hundred 
more were buried on the right of that road ; and, in addition 
to about one hundred dead officers, whose bodies must have 
been removed, the number of corpses lying on the field, within 
range of the enemy's sharpshooters, is estimated at fully three 
hundred. The Federal killed in the struggle on the right may, 
therefore, be declared positively, to number as many as two 
thousand. I have no data on which to estimate the breadth of 
the slaughter in the fierce conflicts of the right; but from the 
stubbornness and volume of these, feel quite confident that they 
must have added to the slain as awful an account as that ren- 
dered in front of Ewell. With three thousand prisoners and 
four thousand dead, the usual |)roportion of six or seven to one 
for the wounded, would show that the losses of Grant in the 
battle of the Wilderness, cannot have been less than thirty 
thousand men. 

General Lee in attempting to lead Gregg's Texans into the 
jaws of death, has given history a striking proof of the attach- 
ment of his troops to his person. The world did not, however, 
want any evidence of his own devotion ; and can hardly fail to 
pronounce judgment against his course on that occasion as one 
of rashness. His exposure during the present campaign has 
been so unusual, and apparently so unnecessary, as to have 
impressed his troops with profound concern. The explosion of 
a shell under his own horse, the killing of the horse of his Ad- 
jutant General, Lieutenant-colonel Taylor, and the wounding of 
another officer attached to his person, Lieutenant-colonel Mar- 
shall, have had the depressing effect of a deep anxiety on the 
TTiorale of his army. The President, sharing the general appre- 
hension in and out of the field for the safety of General Lee, 
has, I am glad to say, written to him a touching letter of 
remonstrance. The relations, private and public, of the two 
men, will, no doubt, give great weight to that protest, notwith- 
standing it comes from a man who, though charged in a strug- 
gle for all that is dear to a freeman with the fate of millions, 
had, under an error of his own devotion, but just returned 
from alarming exposure to the terrible missiles that screamed, 
and burst, and crashed in thunder-claps around Drury's Bluff. 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



JAIL JOURNAL OF THE AUTHOR 

IN 

FORT WARREN, ETC. 



TnE author of the foregoing work was captured by the enemies of his 
country, on his way to Europe. A brief record of his captivity — an unvar- 
nished writing in a jail — will not be an inappropriate appendix to the fore- 
going pages ; and he thinks it may, also, be a valuable illustration of some 
opinions in this volume, and an exhibition of moral aspects of the war, 
which are, indeed, the most intei-esting part of its history. 

No one can justly charge the writer with attempt at any base gratifica- 
tion in libel or abuse in the following pages. He leaves such resources of 
revenge to the baser of his enemies; and he challenges every man who re- 
spects the freedom and honesty of literature, to say whether in these pages 
he has been insensible even to one glimpse of kindness in his prison, or has 
done more than refuse, for any interest or convenience, to compromise 

THE TEUTH. 



CHAPTER I. 

EoNNiNG THE BLOCKADE. — The " Greyhound." — Passing the Blockade Lines. — The 
Capture. — Yankee Courtesy. — Off Fortress Monroe. 

" Running the Blockade" to Europe, is a pleasant thought 
to one in Richmond ; the imagination of an adventure at the 
end of which are golden visions and that beatitude which may 
be summed up in "plenty to wear and to eat." The first 
stage of the adventure brings one to Wilmington ; and here he 
already finds in the luxurious cabins of the blockade-runners 
the creature-comforts to which he has long been a stranger in 



324 ^ THE THIRD YEAK OF THE "WAR. 

the Confederate capital, and has a foretaste of some of the 
sweets of his a,dventure. 

Oranges, which, if they existed in Kichmond, would be tick- 
eted in some Jew's window at twenty dollars apiece ; pineap- 
ples, with their forgotten fragrance; wines and liquors, of 
which we have only the poisoned imitations in Richmond ; 
and an array of cut and stained glass-ware that would have 
put to the blush the stock of all the hotels in the Confed- 
eracy (I had been eating and drinking out of tin at the Wil- 
mington hotel), were set out with a bewildering profusion 
in the cabin of the " Greyhound," when I called to make my 
respects to Captain " Henry" and concluded my arrangements 
for passage out to Bermuda. What a splendid fellow he was : 
a graceful dash of mannei", which yet beamed with intelligence, 
an exuberant hospitality, a kindness that when it did a grate- 
ful thing so gracefully waived all expressions of obligation. 
He had been all over the world ; was familiar with the great 
capitals of Europe ; bore the marks of a wound obtained in 
the campaign of Stonewall Jackson ; and as to his name and 
nationality — why, passengers on blockade-runners are not 
expected to be inquisitive of these circumstances, and must 
beware of impertinent curiosity. 

" Want to get out on the Greyhound ? Why, certainly ; 
shall be very glad to have you ;" and the ca]3tain blew his 
piratical silver whistle, and his clerk had soon noted my 
height, color of my ej-es, &c., for the Confederate officer, who 
was to come aboard next morning to muster crew and passen- 
gers and see that no conscripts made an unticketed exit from 
Wilmington. 

[The reader must understand that on vessels running the 
blockade there is no accommodation for passengers, unless in 
the contracted space of the captain's own cabin ; hence, passen- 
gers are taken only by extraordinary favor.] 

What a contrast was the ready consent of Captain " Henry," 
an entire stranger, to the negatives and quibbles of others. 
For there are in Wilmington specimens of the Southern Yan- 
kee : men, as we have seen them in Richmond, whose swollen 
wealth, and beefy vulgarity, and insatiable avarice, number 
them with that brood of moi'al bastardy. Two officers of the 
volunteer navy of the Confederacy, who desired passage to 



APPENDIX. 325 

proceed to a most important rendezvous, in urgent interests of 
tlie public service, were ruthlessly disappointed, because thej 
could not manage to pay, for a seventy hours' passage to Ber- 
muda, four hundred dollars in gold — eight thousand in the 
currency of the Confederacy. 



On the night of the 9th of May, the Greyhound was lying 
off Fort Fisher, the signal-men blinking at each other with 
their lights in sliding boxes. It was necessary to get a dispen- 
sation from the fort for the Greyhound to pass out to sea, as no 
less than three fugitive conscripts — "stow-aways" — had been 
found aboard of her. Two of them were discovered on search- 
ing the vessel at Wilmington. But lower down the stream 
the vessel is overhauled again, and goes through the process 
of i\\Q fmnigation of her hold to discover improper passengers. 
In the case of the Greyhound, to the intense disgust of the 
captain, and execrations of the crew, the process brought to 
light an unhappy stow-away, who was recognized as a liquor- 
^dealer of Wilmington, and made no secret of his design to flee 
the conscription. After the threat, and apparently serious 
preparations, to throw him overboard, the stow-away was, no 
doubt, relieved to find himself taken ashore to the comparative 
mercies of the enrolling officer. 

At last we are off. The moon is down ; steward has had 
orders to kill the geese and shut up the dog ; the captain has 
put on a suit of dark clothes ; every light is extinguished, 
every word spoken in a whisper, and the turn of the propeller 
of the Greyhound sounds like the beat of a human heart. 
There is an excitement in these circumstances. The low, white- 
gray vessel glides furtively through the water, and you catcli 
the whispered commands of the captain : " Stead-ey,' and then 
the more intense and energetic whisper : " Black smoke, by 
G — ; cut off your smoke." Every eye is strained into the 
shadows of the night. But how utterly useless did all this 
precaution and vigilance appear on the Greyhound ; for 
after two hours of suspense we were out of the blockade lines, 
and had seen nothing but the white caps of the waves. A 



326 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

blockade for blockheads, surely, I thought, as I composed my- 
self to sleep, dismissing entirely from my mind all terrors of 
the Yankee. 



It was about two o'clock the next day, and the Grey- 
hound was about one hundred and fifty miles out at sea, 
when the lookout reported a steamer astern of ns. The day 
was hazy, and when the vessel was first descried, she could not 
have been more than five or six miles astern of us. For a few 
moments there was a sharp suspense ; perhaps the steamer had 
not seen us ; every one listened with breathless anxiety, as the 
tall fellow at the mast-head reported the discoveries he was 
making, through his glasses, of the suspicious vessel. " He is 
bearing towards a bark, sir ;" and for a few moments hope 
mounted in our hearts that we might not have been observed, 
and might yet escape into the misty obscurity of the sea. In 
vain. " He is a side-wheel steamer, and is bearing directly 
for us, sir." " Give her her way," shouted the captain in re- 
sponse ; and there was a tumultuous rush of the crew to the 
emgine-room, and the black smoke curling above the smoke- 
stack and the white foam in our wake told plainly enough 
that the startled Greyhound was making desperate speed. 

But she was evidently no match for the Yankee. We were 
betng rapidly overhauled, and in sometliing more than an 
hour from the beginning of the chase a shell from the Yankee 
vessel, the " Connecticut," was whistling over our bows. The 
crew became unruly; but Captain "Henry," revolver in hand, 
ordered back the man to tlie wheel, declaring " he was master 
of his vessel yet." The mate reported that a very small crew 
appeared to be aboard the Yankee. " Then we will fight for 
it," said the captain. But the madness of such a resolution 
became soon manifest : for as the Connecticut overhauled 
us more closely, her decks and wheel-houses were seen to be 
black with men, and a shell, which grazed our engine, warned 
us that we were at the mercy of the enemy. But for that 
peculiar nuisance of blockade-runners — women passengers — 
the Greyhound might have been burnt, and the last duty per- 
formed in the face of the rapacious enemy. 



APPENDIX. 327 

Dizzy, and disgusted with sea-sickness ; never supposing that 
a vessel which had passed out of the asserted lines of blockade 
without seeing a blockader, without being pursued from those 
lines, and already far out on the sacred highway of the ocean, 
and flying the British ensign, could be the subject of pirati- 
cal seizure ; never dreaming that a simple Confederate passen- 
ger could be the victim of human hidnajpjping on the high seas, 
outside of all military and territorial lines, I had but a dim ap- 
preciation of the excited scenes on the Greyhound in the 
chase. Papers, memoranda, packages of Confederate bonds, 
were ruthlessly tossed into the purser's bag to be consumed by 
the flames in the engine-room ; the contents of trunks were 
wildly scattered over the decks ; the white waves danced with 
ambrotypes, souvenirs, and the torn fragments of the large 
package of letters, missives of friendship, records of afi'ection, 
which had been entrusted to me, and which I at last unwill- 
ingly gave to the sea. 

Here, at last, close alongside of us, in the bright day, was 
the black guilty thing, while from her sides were pushing out 
boats, with well-dressed crews in lustrous uniforms and officers 
in the picturesqueness of gold and blue — a brave sight for 
grimy Confederates ! The Greyhound was no sooner boarded, 
than an ensign, who had his hair parted in the middle, and 
his hands encased in lavender-colored kids, came up to me 
and asked me with a very joyous air how many bales of cotton 
were on board the vessel. I afterwards understood that, from 
my disconsolate looks, he had taken me to be the owner of the 
cotton, and was probably desirous, by his amiable question, to 
give a sly pinch to my misery. 



These plain records of experience, which are memorable in 
my life, would have no value for me, and would, indeed, be 
despicable scribblings, if they did not contain the truth. Where 
there is any fact in these experiences to the enemy's credit I 
shall not suppress it ; he sl&all not only have the benefit of it, 
but my grateful acknowledgements ; for I am too proud of the 



328 



THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 



reputation of Confederates for candor and sensibility to kind- 
ness to risk it for the miserable gratification of writing a libel 
for popular passion. 

I shall ever retain a pleasant and grateful recollection of the 
treatment I, in common with all the prisoners, obtained on 
board the Connecticut, and the humane courtesy of her com- 
mander, John J. Almy. I had all the accommodations and 
attentions usually given to a passenger, was provided with a 
state-room, took my meals in the ward-room, and — what was 
the most grateful surprise of all — never had my ear assailed 
with the epithet of " rebel," or any of the dirty phrases which 
I had supposed to be common in Yankee conversation when- 
ever it alluded to the Confederacy. I was told by those who 
had more experience in the matter than myself that the officers 
of the old navy of the United States are remarkable for their 
decorous manners towards prisoners, and, in this respect, pre- 
sented a striking contrast to the coarse vulgarity of the 
Yankee army. 



On the bright twelfth of May, the Connecticut was mov- 
ing up the estuary of the James from Fortress Monroe to New- 
port Kews. The men-of-war and iron-clads which thronged 
the stream afforded an exhibition of the enemy's naval power, 
which made us smile to think how little all this brave show of 
ribbed guns and armaments had accomplished against the 
stark spirit and beggarly resources of those who fight for 
liberty. 

The pilot who boarded us off the Capes (a fellow with a bil- 
ious skin and greased hair, who claimed to be from Maryland), 
brought a wonderful story of the progress of the war in Vir- 
ginia. " The ]^ew York Herald had news as big as his fist : 
Beauregard's army cut in two ; Lee on a foot-race to Kich- 
inond ; ahead, everywhere," etc. I had heard such stuff be- 
fore, and having had some experience of dissecting Yankee 
lies with pen and scissors, was not easily imposed upon by 
the pilot's resurrection of such from the columns of New York 
journals. 



APPENDIX. 829 

At our mess in the ward-room, a fellow-prisoner was tempt- 
ed to ask the pilot if there were any Virginia pilots employed 
in the bay or river. " Not one," was the fellow's reply ; and 
a flush of shame might have passed on his cheek on observing 
the proud and meaning glance which three of the prisoners, 
Virginians, exchanged at the announcement. I had heard be- 
fore that the Virginia pilots, without a solitary exception, had 
abandoned their livelihoods and professions, spurning the 
temptations of the enemy and the gains they might have made 
from dishonor ; but here was the unquestionable testimony of 
their self-sacrifice from the lips of an enemy and a rival. I 
do not know that the State of Virginia has ever done anything 
for these noble men, turned adrift from their employment, 
many of them I know earning scanty bread about Richmond, 
by the pitiable shifts of the refugee. Surely, such sacrifices 
as they have made should be gratefully recognized, and, as far 
as possible, rewarded ; for they are another public decora- 
tion of the honor of the " Old Dominion " in this war. 



330 THE THIKD YEAK OF THE WAJR. 



CHAPTEE n. 

Curiosities of the Yankee Blockade.— Correspondence with Lord Lyons, &c. 

Mt sense of tlie personal kindness of Captain Almy and his 
officers certainly did not disturb my conviction that the Con- 
necticut had done a monstrous wrong, and that these persons 
were the instruments of a despotism at Washington, that, 
among other indignities of the war, was imposing upon the 
world the monstrous lie of a blockade, which was, in fact, an 
ill-disguised system of piracy. 

There were in my mind certain questions touching the prac- 
tical conduct of that blockade, which I was satisfied had not 
been pressed upon the attention of European Governments ; 
which made what lawyers call "a case" for the Greyhound, 
and which might possibly result, through the timely and deter- 
mined protests of some one, in the rescue of the vessel from 
her captors. I determined to risk my liberty in the attempt 
to make the issue. I had my opportunity of escape in sup- 
pressing my name and keeping quiet ; but my convictions of 
justice to the vessel, and my confidence in the eventual tri- 
umph of principles, determined me to risk my case, not on a 
disguise, but on the truthful grounds that myself arid vessel 
were legally exempt from capture. I had already written to 
Lord Lyons claiming my release, and having resolved to make 
a similar issue for the vessel, I avowed to Captain Almy the 
necessity of my being sent to Boston, where the prize proceed- 
ings were to be fceld, to make the proper protests in behalf 
and in the interest of the owners of the Greyhound. I was 
sent on board the Greyhound, and soon secured the means 
of a free communication in my own name and that of the Cap- 
tain with Lord Lyons: the result, a correspondence which 
must here anticipate my narrative of events. Little did I 
know what that correspondence '^as to cost me in the resent- 
ment of the Washington Government ; for in it I had pre- 



APPENDIX. 331 

sumed to denounce the clieat of the blockade, and to attempt 
to rescue from Yankee chitches a prize worth scarcely less than 
a million of dollars. "What I was to endure for the temerity 
will follow in tlie course of the narrative, which the corres- 
pondence below anticipates, inserted here, if of no other inter- 
est, as an independent chapter on the curiosities of the Yankee 
Blockade. 



I. 



On Board U. S, Steamer Contstectiout, } 
At Sea, May 11, 1864. \ 

Lord Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary for Her 
Britannic Majesty, near "Washington, United States : 

My Lord : I have respectfully to represent to you that I was 
arrested yesterday on the high seas, by the United States 
steamer Connecticut, from the deck of the British steamer 
Greyhound, in which I was a passenger for Bermuda, en route 
for England, — the Greyhound, at the time of capture, being 
about one hundred and fifty miles out at sea, and flying the 
British ensign. Having passed out of the lines of blockade, 
and of contested territorial jurisdiction, my right as a passen- 
ger became, as I conceive, analagous and tantamount to those 
of asylum under the British flag, and, in this respect, I invoke 
its protection, and that I may be permitted to pursue my way 
to En'gland. 

I was on board the Greyhound in the simple and exclusive 
character of a passenger. When arrested there on the high 
seas, I was proceeding to England to fulfil an engagement for 
a literary work on the Confederate States, &c., with publish- 
ers in London, who had already printed two volumes I had 
composed of a similar nature ; and also to discharge a private 
and domestic duty in visiting the relatives of my wife, who is 
a native of England and a subject of Her Britannic Majesty. 
I am not connected with the military service of the Confeder- 
ate States, and am charged with no public ofiice or trust on 
their behalf. These facts may be readily established by appro- 
priate evidence; and in consideration of them, I submit to 
your Lordship that, if interposition be necessary, I may be' 



332 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

protected in those very obvious rights, which I invoke in the 
character of an innocent passenger on the high seas, under the 
British flag. 

I have the honor, &c., 

Your obedient servant, 

EDWAED A. POLLAED. 



n. 

On Board Beitish Steamer GREYnouxn, ) 
New York, May 16, 1864. ) 
Lord Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary, &c., near Washington, D. C. 

My Lord : The Greyhound, on which I am now held as pris- 
oner, having been ordered to Boston, and stopping here to coal, 
I take the opportunity to enclose to your Lordship the dupli- 
cate of a former letter, written while I was a prisoner on board 
the U. S. Steamer Connecticut, and placed in the hands of 
Commander John J. Aim}', commanding said steamer, for 
transmission : using the opportunity thus to insure communi- 
cation. 

It is, doubtless, unnecessary to encumber the statement I 
have already submitted to your Lordship with any argument. 
But there is one view of the matter which it may not be un- 
necessary or presumptuous to bring to your Lordship's atten- 
tion. 

It must frequently happen (as it has occurred in my case) 
that the Confederate States, from obvious considerations of mili- 
tary prudence, deny all communications through the United 
States, or other adjoining territory, by land, and that, then, the 
only possible mode of egress is by sea on vessels which pass 
through the line of blockade. If, on board of one of these 
vessels, which carried the British flag, and had passed out of 
the jurisdiction claimed by the United States, I was not pro- 
tected from arrest, then it follows that the passenger {he he 
Englishman or Confederate) is made the victim of a necessity 
which he could not avoid, and for which he is not responsible. 
Such a rule would involve the rights of your own countrymen, 
my Lord, and any passenger, whose misfortune it was that he 
could not get out of the Confederate States, without crossing 
the ocean, might be, after he had passed out of the lines of 



APPENDIX. 333 

contested territorial jurisdiction, hunted on the high seas as 
lawful prize, and be at the mercy of any arbitrary arrest. 

I did not take passage on board the Greyhound out of the 
port of Wilmington, until I had ascertained to my satisfaction 
that she was a hona-fide British vessel, having undertaken the 
single voyage in which she was captured, under a charter party, 
and entitled to carry the British flag, at least so far as to pro- 
tect jyassengers, subject only to the risk of capture within the 
territorial limit asserted by the United States. I trust that 
my circumspection in this matter has not been without avail, 
and that, having sought the protection of the British flag, in 
good faith, and with an innocent purpose, I may speedily realize 
it through the oflices of your Lordship. 

I have the honor to renew my respects. 

Your obedient servant, 

EDWD. A. POLLAED. ' 

ni. 

On Boaed Steamer Greyhound, i 
At Sea, May 14, 1864. \ 
Lord Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary, &c., for Her Britannic Majesty, near 
Washington, United States. 

My Lord : I am now held as prisoner on board the British 
steamer Greyhound, which is claimed as a prize by the U. S. 
Steamship Connecticut, and is ordered, as I am informed, to 
the port of Boston, where proceedings will be taken for her 
condemnation. The circumstances under which the Grey- 
hound was captured are peculiar, and involve a question of 
the most obvious interest and gravest import to Her Majesty's 
Government, and to the right of property in her subjects. 

The Greyhound was, in good faith, and in all respects, a 
British vessel, and had been chartered at Bermuda to take out 
from the port of Wilmington certain private cotton purchased 
and paid for by subjects of Great Britain, and held exclusively 
on their own account. Not one pound of this cotton belonged 
to any citizen of the Confederate States ; nor did any such 
citizen have any interest whatever in the vessel or her venture. 
Your Lordship will be easily able to determine from the ship's 
papers, and all other circumstances, that the nationality of the 
Greyhound was not a disguise — an adopted convenience for 



334r THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

running the blockade — but was in all respects a true and un- 
affected claim on the part of her owners. 

At the time of the capture of the Greyhound, on the 10th 
instant, she was in lat. 33 degs., 10 min., 15 sec, and long. 76 
degs., 47 min., 45 sec. West, one hundred and twenty-five 
miles from the nearest land, flying the British ensign. She 
had passed out to sea from the port of Wihnington without 
seeing a Federal cruiser, and without any visible evidence of a 
blockade. But even if that blockade had existed, and was 
something more than a vicious fiction, by which Federal cruis- 
ers, instead of picketing the coast, are permitted to take easy 
prizes on the high seas, I submit to your Lordship that the 
Greyhound, having once passed out the territorial limit, and 
flying the British flag, not for the purposes of concealment, 
but by clear title of right, could not be outlawed on the high 
seas, and took the risks of blockade only within the territorial 
jurisdiction claimed by the United States. Any other rule 
would extend the jurisdiction of the United States over the 
high seas, and the flag of Her Majesty's Government carried 
there by a clear title in the vessel to fly it, would afford no 
protection. 

As another circumstance of illegality in the capture of the 
Greyhound — indeed, I may say as one of wholly unnecessary 
indignity — I have further to state to your Lordship, that when 
the vessel had been brought to Newport News, the Commo- 
dore present, the senior ofiicer commanding the Federal squad- 
ron, commanded the British flag on my vessel to be hauled 
down, and the Federal flag to be hoisted in its place. There 
is certainly no shadow of right for such a proceeding, until the 
vessel is condemned in due course of law ; and of the spirit of 
an act, where the law and the rule of propriety which it equally 
offends are both so plain, your Lordship will doubtless have 
no difiiculty in judging. 

Trusting that the rights of the owners of the Greyhound, 
which I am left for the present to represent, will receive the 
attention of your Lordship, and having every confidence in 
your Lordship's sensibility to whatever touches the rights and 
honor of Her Majesty's Government, 

I have the honor, &c., your obedient servant, 

GEOEGE HENRY, Master of the Greyhound. 



APPENDIX. 335 



IV. 



British Lkgatiok, Washington, D. 0,, May 20, 1864. 

Sir : It is the usual and correct practice that the master and 
one or more of the other persons taken on board a neutral 
vessel captured for breach of blockade, should be sent in the 
vessel to a port of the captor, in order that their evidence may 
be taken in the case ; but if such persons be neutral, they 
ought to be released as soon as they have given their evidence, 
and their evidence ought to be taken without unnecessary 
delay. 

I have written to the Secretary of State of the United 
States to express my hope that you will be set free immediately 
after your evidence has been taken ; and I beg of you to lose 
no time in informing me, if this be not done. 

I have also applied to the Secretary of State of the United 
States for the release of those of the ojfficers and crew of the 
Greyhound, who were taken out of the vessel, and who have, I 
am sorry to say, been detained as prisoners at Camp Hamilton, 
near Fortress Monroe. 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

LYONS. 
E. A. PoLLAED, Esq. 

y. 

Boston, May 26, 1864. 

LoED Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary, &c., for Her Britannic Majesty, near 
"Washington, United States : 

My Lord : I have been detained here as a prisoner one week 
to-day ; notwithstanding the notification, under date of 20th 
instant, with which your Lordship obliged me, to the effect 
that you had applied to the Secretary of State of the United 
States for my release. 

There are two points in my case, which I beg to bring to 
your attention again in a precise and brief recapitulation. 

1. The Greyhound had passed out of the port of Wihning- 
ton, without sight of a blockading vessel, and was taken by a 
cruiser about one hundred and iifty miles out at sea. 1 desire 



336 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

to put the question to your Lordship, if the government at 
Washington can so change its tactics of blockade as to omit 
an efficient guard of the coast, and take up vessels which have 
come out of Confederate ports by fast-sailing cruisers on the 
ocean highway ; for such I was informed, by an officer of the 
U. S. steamer Connecticut, was the recently adopted and easy 
plan of taking prizes, the fruits of which your Lordship may 
have observed in the capture oi four vessels as prizes in a sin- 
gle week, each taken far out on the high seas.* 

2. The Greyhound was thoroughly a British vessel ; the 
British flag she carried was oiot a decoy, and that flag covered 
me, after I had jpassed out of the territorial jurisdiction of the 
United States, and, even in case it did not protect vessel or 
cargo (granting, for argument, these to be of an illicit character) 
protected me as an innocent passenger ; else, having no other 
egress from the Confederate States, the passenger would be the 
victim of his necessity ; and, else again, if a citizen of the Con- 
federate States, not contraband, could be outlawed on the high 
seas, under that flag, flying on a bona fide British vessel, why 
not a subject or citizen of any other Government? If the flag 
was a reality at all it certainly should give protection on the 
ocean highway to a passenger who was pursuing objects of 
private convenience, and certainly was not amenable to any 
military penalities of the government at Washington. 

Begging that your Lordship will acquit me of the charge of 
importunity in a matter the importance of which is by no 
means altogether personal to myself, I have the'honor, «&;c., 

Your obedient servant, 

EDW. A. POLLARD. 

P. S. I telegraphed your Lordship on the 24th instant to ob- 
tain liberty for me to see you in Washington, in the interest 
of the Greyhound, but have received no reply ; hence these 
lines. 



* Another circumstance : It is true that if the blockade-runner be seen in 
flagrante delicto passing the territorial lines, she may be pursued and taken on 
the high seas. But the Greyhound was not pursued, she was waylaid on the 
highway of the seas. Such a practice would convert the blockade into a sys- 
tem of roving commissions, and might as well be predicated of the coast of 
Bermuda as of that of the Confederate States. 



APPENDIX. 337 



YI. 



Beiti8H Legation, Washington, D. C, May 28, 1864. 

Sik: I have received your letter of the day before yes- 
terday. 

On receiving jour telegram of the 24:tli instant, stating that 
you were charged to represent to me the facts of the case of 
the Greyhound and the interests of the owners, I sent by 
telegraph instructions to Her Majesty's consul at Boston to 
ask you to communicate on these matters with him for 
my information. I have to-day received from him an ac- 
count of an interview which he had with you the day before 
yesterday. 

I will request the consul to see that any British subjects in- 
terested in the Greyhound have proper facilities for defending 
their interests before the Prize Court. This is all I can do at 
present. I have referred the case to Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment, and I deem it right to wait for instructions from them 
before taking further steps. 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

LYONS. 
Edwakd a. Pollard, Esq. 

YH. 

Fort Warekn, Boston Harbor, July 2 [should be June 2], 1864. 

Lord Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary for Her 
Britannic Majesty, near Washington : 

My Lord : I have been honored by your attention in two 
letters, which, I beg leave to state very respectfully, have left 
me in some confusion of mind as to your Lordship's views and 
intentions with reference to my case. On the 20th ultimo, you 
write that you had " expressed your hope" to the Secretary of 
State of the United States that I should be "set free imme- 
diately," &c. ; and on the 28th ultimo, you do not say what has 
been the issue of that hope, and while referring to the prize 
proceedings against the Greyhound, you make no reference 
whatever to my personal claims of protection by the British 

22 



338 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

flag, as a passenger on the high seas. In the mean time, I 
have been imprisoned in Fort "Warren, by orders from Wash- 
ington, without notice, without trial, and without being ad- 
vised of any charge whatever against me. 

It is true, that Her Majesty's consul at Boston mentioned to 
me that he understood that you had written the first letter, as- 
suring me of my claim of liberty, under the impression that 
I was a British subject : an impression which your Lordship 
will do me the justice to observe was not derived from any 
statement of mine, or any implication of my correspondence. 
But I cannot see the force of the distinction. If I had been 
an Englishman, it seemed I would have been entitled to my 
release : why ? — by grace of the Washington authorities, or by 
force of right ? The former supposition I think I may safely 
say would be resented by yourself, as well as by your Govern- 
ment, my Lord ; and if the release, then, is to be put on any 
grounds of right, then the case of the Englishman would be 
no better than my own. The flag would protect me as well as 
him. It, eitlier, must be a piece of bunting, and protects 
nothing, or, if it protects anything, it would protect all ^as- 
sengers alike. As far as the question is that of citizens or per- 
sons, it belongs to my own Government, and I am willing to 
rest it there ; but as a question involving the British flag on 
the high seas, which, either sinks there all other insignia and 
distinctions of nationality, and protects all passengers alike, or 
is an unmeaning display, I have brought it to the considera- 
tion of your Lordship, and respectfully asked your decision. 
I cannot find that the latter is stated or intimated in. the let- 
ters of your Lordship, to which I have had the honor to refer. 
I have, &e., your obedient servant, 

EDWAED A. POLLARD. 



YIIL 

British Legation, Washington, D. 0., June 9, 1864. 
Sir : I received, on the 6th instant, a letter from you, dated 
(evidently by mistake) 2d of July. In answer to it, I can only 
say that I have referred your case to Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment, and sent them copies of your letters to me, and that, 



APPENDIX. 339 

while waiting for instructions from them, I do not feel at 
liberty to discuss the subject. Whatever orders they may 
think proper to give will be immediately executed by me. 
I am, Sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

LYONS. 
E. A. PoLLAED, Esq., Fort Warren. 



34:0 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 



CHAPTER III. 

A Week in Boston. — Introduction to the U. S. Marshal.— In the Streets of Boston: 
Two Spectacles. — A Circle of Secessionists. — The " Hub of the Universe." 

As the Greyhound worked her way througli tlie green and 
picturesque archipelago of Boston harbor, the pilot did me the 
kindness of pointing out Fort Warren as my probable abode 
for some future months, and contidentially spitting in my ear 
the advice to " holler for the Union." He had also found oc- 
casion to essay some advice to " Jane," a negro-woman, one 
of those tidy, respectable family servants redolent of " Old 
Virginia," who had been captured on her way to join her mis- 
tress, the wife of a Confederate agent in Bermuda. Jane's re- 
sponse was not complimentary ; for the experience of the 
Yankee, which that respectable colored female had obtained 
from the amount of swearing and swilling on the Gre^'hound, 
had induced her to assert, with melancholy gravity, that " she 
had not seen a Christian since she left Petersburg." 

The United States Marshal, who was introduced by the 
prize-master, with the whispered injunction that " we had bet- 
ter be polite," was a little Yankee with gimlet eyes, and who, 
with the fondness of his nation for official insignia, had adorned 
himself with a long tail coat, scrupulously blue, and garnished 
with immense metal buttons marked U. S. He was accom- 
panied by three citizens, two of whom appeared to be civil and 
intelligent gentlemen, whose curiosity, if that was the motive 
of their visit, was subdued by their politeness. The third had 
an emasculated lisp, which I afterwards found to be character- 
istic of a certain class in Boston, and which was increased in 
this instance by the effect of the liquor he had drank. " He 
was a Virginian ; he thought it right to indulge a little State 
pride." " Oh, to be sure," responded the prisoners, who 
thought the confidential injunction to be polite to the marshal 
included his toady. The fellow came up to me whispering 



APPENDIX. 341 

something about " liis sympathies being with Virginia, but it 

wouldn't do to let the d d rascals know it." I was glad 

enough to repel the embraces of this creature without inquir- 
ing why it " wouldn't do " to testify his sympathies for Virginia, 
and how it was that his sympathies detained him in Boston, 
and kept him in the company of " d d rascals." I after- 
wards discovered that he was a prize-lawyer, and prej'^ed for a 
living upon Yankee crews. 

The marshal having taken himself off with the prize-master, 
I was, about sundown, invited ashore by a severe-looking man, 
placed in a carriage and driven along the green skirt of Boston 
Common to a building, which I was told contained the mar- 
shal's office. That official had not arrived there. I was waved 
back into the carriage by the severe man. " Where are we 
going, now ?" I asked; pleasantly. " To the jail .^" replied the 
severe man, very sharply and sententiously. I protested I 
was a passenger on board the Greyhound, already in com- 
munication with Lord Lyons, to protect my rights, as such, 
under tlie neutral flag on the high seas ; and if the marshal or 
his deputy presumed to treat me as a criminal, and put me in 
a common jail, it would be at the peril of grave legal conse- 
quences. 

The latter part of my protest seemed to affect the deputy, 
for he relaxed his brows, and had me driven to the Tremont 
House, where the marshal was to be found. I was readily 
released on my parole not to attempt to escape. At a subse- 
queilt hour of the night, having found my way to a very mod- 
est, but excellent hotel, where I registered as " E. A. Parkin- 
son," from " New York," I, at last, relieved from the presence 
of authority, and the annoyance of impertinent curiosity, 
enjoyed the first undisturbed sleep I had had for many 
nights. 



I felt something like a translation to a new world in the gay 
streets and luxurious hotels of Boston. In the latter places 
were to be seen knots of sleek, lust-dieted men, lounging and 
guzzling ; in the streets, a dizzy show of well-dressed crowds, 
going to and fro on errands of business and pleasure, or in the 



342 



THE THIED YEAR OF THE WAR. 



idle excursions of ostentation. What a contrast to the scanty 
homes of Eichmond, and its streets, where soldiers in dust- 
stained gray challenge the passenger, and where the eye has 
become accustomed to the home-spun garb, the mildewed 
uniform, and the other proud tokens of the unabashed and 
stern poverty of a country fighting for liberty ! Oh, my coun- 
trymen ! how my heai-t bounds to think of you, in the dainty 
and ostentatious crowd that besets me ! Our tears, our dust- 
stained rags, our broken goods, our images of poverty — shall 
not history gather them into a monument more glorious and 
more enduring than any the hand of Opulence can rear ! 

1 had been left to understand that owing to the delay of the 
"Washington Government in attending to such small matters as 
the rights of liberty of individuals, I should probably have my 
parole for a week or ten days in Boston, and might enjoy my- 
self accordingl3\ But what enjoyment ! Wherever I ven- 
tured out, I was sure to get my dose of Yankee, and on all 
occasions of such " enjoyment," I was glad to get back to the 
privacy of the four walls of my little bedroom. 

I might go into the parlors or the reading-rooms of the 
hotels, and see there the peculiar fungi of Yankee hotel society. 
I might sally into the streets, and see the equipages of " Shod- 
dy," driven by solemn-looking coachmen, dressed in black, 
with mutton whiskers. I might stroll into Boston Common, 
and be beset there by the itinerant Yankee with his " Kespiro- 
meter," his " Grand Stereopticon of the War," or some other 
one-cent wonder. It is not strange that a plain Confederate 
might be disgusted with such a programme of entertainment. 
But I did iind some amusement, at occasional hours, in walking 
through Washington street, and observing crowds of enthused 
Yankees, including strapping women, with strong minds and 
constitutional " yearnings," gathered around the garish lies 
of the newspaper bulletins, and devouring such intelligence as 
the " Capture of Kichmond," " Rout of the Rebels," " Defeat 
of Hampton's Legion by Massachusetts Negroes," &c., &c. 

There were two occasions in Boston which drew me from the 
retirement of my hotel. One was the celebration of the return 
of a Massachusetts regiment, from the lines in Virginia, their 
term of service having expired, and the " brave boys " having 
sought their homes in the very heat and crisis of Grant's mem- 



APPENDIX. 343 

orable campaign. Tliey had left Virginia at tlie very moment 
the great batcle had been joined on the Rapidan. Such con- 
duct would have been despised as an exhibition of seltidiness 
or cowardice in the South, and a regiment of Confederates 
returning home, under sucli circumstances, would have been 
hooted in the streets of Richmond. But the Yankee is too 
fond of " sensations" to analj-ze any moral question they may- 
involve. The whole of Boston was in an uproar of delight to 
receive the returned regiment, which was escorted through the 
streets with all the military displaj' the city could muster : 
flags waving welcome, spreads of canvas in the streets entitled 
" Honor to the Brave," handkerchiefs and parasols flapped 
from M'indows, car-loads of school-children, and a jam of omni- 
buses at each corner of the route of " the braves," ci'owned 
with admiring spectators. Then there was a dinner at Faneuil 
Hall, a speech from Governor Andrew, and complimentary 
honors enough to fill two or three columns of the next morn- 
ing's papers. 

Really, the most curious philosophy in the composition of 
the Yankee is his love of sensation : the most distinctive trait, 
too, of the nation, and one in such especial and striking con- 
trast to the plain and serious manners of the Confederates. It 
has frequently occurred to me that an occasion of the sympathy 
of Englishmen with us in this war is the similarity of our 
manners, proceeding in each instance from the habit of a quiet 
and practical estimation of things at their right value. The 
Confederates are a peoj^le of habitual sobriety of sentiment, 
readily excited on due occasion, but much more by the inspira- 
tion of abstract principles than by the names of persons. How 
diff'erent the Yankee ! I have seen General Lee passing through 
the streets of Richmond without a huzza and without any other 
attestation of his presence than that of his being occasionally 
pointed out with a quiet and respectful regard. I certainly 
never heard of a mob of admirers at his hotel, or a deputation 
of Confederate damsels to kiss him. But the Yankees must 
have their "big thing," and if there is nothing else to serve 
their appetite these people will actually exaggerate their own 
disgrace and caricature themselves rather than not have their 
" sensation" in the penny newspapers. We all recollect what 
magnified and gloating descriptions the Yankee journals gave 



344 THE THIED YEAR OF THE WAR. 

US of the footrace of their army from Bull Run to "Washington 
— one of the first " sensations" of the war. And here Ave have 
a twenty -four hours " sensation" in Boston in the celebration 
of the return of a regiment of soldiers, who came home in the 
remarkable circumstances that they have not re-enlisted for the 
war, and have turned their backs upon their comrades at the 
brunt of the campaign. 

The other occasion which took me into the streets was one 
of sad, memorable interest. I had seen in one of the city 
papers that two hundred Confederate prisoners were expected 
in Boston from the prisons in the AVest ; they having taken the 
oath of allegiance and enlisted in the Yankee navy. I went to 
the depot to see these wretched men, and when I saw them 
filing through the dense crowd, with their emaciated faces and 
bowed heads, I could not find it in my heart to accuse them. 
There was the evidence in their pinched faces and flimsy rags 
of the devilish appliances of torture that had been used to 
break the spirit and imj^ugn the honor of these unfortunates. 

But in the beliavior of the crowd which received them at the 
depot there was a lesson which I trust I may never forget. The 
2:)Oor fellows were ridiculed at every step, laughed at, assailed 
with contemptuous remarks, and had to run the gauntlet of 
the wit of butcher boys and greasy loafers, well pleased with 
their supposed superiority to Southern " barbarians." Such 
was the fraternal reception of those who returned to Yankee 
allegiance. And in this scene of derision at the depot I saw in 
miniatui-e what would be the real consequences of the return 
of the Confederacy to the Union, and what meant for us the 
promised embrace of fraternal reconciliation. 

Oh ! my countrymen, death and the visitation of all other 
misfortunes and misery, rather than the embrace of our enemy ! 
God spare us the pollution of contact with a people, who, af- 
fecting so much outwardly, have turned every thing to a lie, 
and who, ravening for our blood, smile and stab. Who could 
endure the triumph of the Yankee, the braggart /exultation of 
the coxcombs of creation ! Katlier the grave cover us and our 
name, and our dear country pass away in the mist of blood and 
tears, than we should consent to this humiliation ! 



APPENDIX. 345 

I had passed a week in Boston, entirely unknown and se- 
cluded, when an incident occurred that was to open to me a 
new and surprising interest in this Yankee metropolis. I was 
sauntering in the reading-room of the hotel one evening, when 
an amiable looking gentleman came up to me with a beaming 
face and whispered, " Are you not Mr. Pollard, from Rich- 
mond ?" I was so taken aback by the plump question that I 
could not help answering " Yes." " I thought so," he replied, 
quickly ; " some detectives here know you ; hush, talk low — I 
want you to let me bring a friend around to see you at nine 
o'clock this evening." I signified my assent, and awaited with 
some interest an interview about which there appeared to be 
some mystery. 

At nine o'clock I received in my chamber the gentleman 
who had so unceremoniously introduced himself to me, and 
who was, indeed, to prove a friend, accompanied by a gentle- 
man whose name was already familiar to me as one who had 
suffered for his early and brave sympathy with the Confed- 
eracy in this war. There are obvious reasons why I should 
not mention here the names of these friends and of other sym- 
pathetic persons in Boston, afterwards found, who surprised me, 
not only by the warmth and delicacy of their personal kind- 
ness, but by their sentiments for my country. 

I sat up with my two visitors until near three o'clock in the 
morning in conversation on the war, answering their eager in- 
quiries of men and things in the Confederacy. The next day 
it was insisted that I should be introduced to a number of per- 
sons in Boston who sympathized with the South ; and some of 
my countrjnnen will be surprised to learn that to meet these 
persons I was carried to the Merchants' Exchange, to the offi- 
ces of leading lawyers, and to some of the largest business es- 
tablishments in Boston. I may say here that in the com-se of 
two or three days I met at least one hundred gentlemen in 
Boston, among its most influential classes, who expressed to 
me an ardent sympathy for the South in her struggle for con- 
stitutional liberty, and an earnest desire for the acknowledg- 
ment of her independence as the only possible termination of 
an unnatural and unhappy war. 

To no one could this have been a greater surprise than my- 
self. I had long been a skeptic as to the opposition to the 



S4:6 THE THIRD YEAK OF THE "WAR. 

Lincoln Government in tlie North, and had esteemed it 
nothing more than a demonstration of partisan machinery, in 
competition for office and power. But however correct may 
be this general estimate of parties in the North, what I was 
made a private witness of in Boston was sufficient to satisfy 
any candid mind that the Southern Confederacy had a party 
in the North of devoted and intelligent friends entitled to her 
consideration and gratitude. What was most remarkable was 
that these men sympathized with us not from infidelity to their 
own section, but on the high and intelligent grounds that the 
war involves the issue of their own liberties, and that the 
Southern Confederacy in this struggle represents what remains 
of constitutional law and conservatism in America, battling 
against a fanaticism which must at last be destructive of itself. 
A sympathy of this sort is valuable. There is, perhaps, other 
sympathy with us in the North proceeding from less honora- 
ble motives, the mere fruit of faction — properly entitled 
" Copperheadism" — which I am very much inclined to think 
is worthless and contemptible. " Sir," said a leading merchant 
of Boston to me, "I am not what is called a disloyal man. I 
want to see the South succeed because I want to see the con- 
stitutional issue she is lighting for, succeed. I regard General 
Lee as fighting our battles as well as your own, and if he is 
whipped we shall have a despotism at Washington which will 
crush freedom in the North, as well as independence in the 
South." 

Li short, I had discovered a circle of " secessionists" in Bos- 
ton, and had been cursing the black desert of heartless crowds 
before my eyes, without the least thought that it contained an 
oasis for the despised Confederate. I was overwhelmed with 
kindness by my newly found friends, offered a testimonial din- 
ner which I peremptorily declined ; invited to charming coun- 
try places and suburban rides. Alas, from this amicable diver- 
sion my thoughts were to be soon turned into a channel of 
bitterness ! What could avail even the most generous kind- 
ness of a few individuals when I had been marked as a victim 
by the Autocracy at Washington, and the iron wheel of its 
torture was being prepared to crush out my life or grind it 
with all the unutterable misery that the imagination of des- 
potism could invent. 



APPENDIX. 347 



CHAPTER lY. 

Commitment to Fort Warken. — Horrors of the Yankee Bastile. — Torture of " A 
Brutal Villaiu." — A Letter to Secretary Welles. 

I WAS taken from a sick bed to my granite prison and sack 
of straw. I had been suffering for many months from nervous 
prostration ; and so much had it been aggravated, by the anx- 
ieties of my situation, that I had taken myself to bed. I was 
lying there, the morning of Sunday, the 29th of May, when a 
deputy of the United States marshal entered my room, and 
commanded me to accompany him to Fort Warren. There 
was no explanation of this harsh and immediate summons, 
except that " orders had come to that effect from Washington." 
In vain I plead the confines of sickness, and sought the delay 
of a single day. " Could I see the marshal ?" " No." The 
orders from Washington were to imprison me " forthwith." 
" What was I accused of? Why was it that the other passen- 
gers on the Greyhound were so graciously liberated, and I 
alone to be sent to Fort Warren ?" The officer did not know. 
So, without explanation, without notice, without process of 
any sort, I had been selected, the single victim, to suffer for 
the Greyhound, while her master was off for Canada, and 
the other passengers had been permitted, without a whisper of 
investigation, to proceed in the same direction. Perhaps my 
imprisonment, under these circumstances, was a compliment- 
ary distinction ; but I must confess that, at the time, I could 
not, as the Yankees say, " see it in that light." 

In the beautiful Sabbath-day, full of sunshine, through the 
sparkling water, and along the green islands of the bay, I was 
carried to my prison-house, the sight of whose solid masonry, 
rising above the bright water, smote my heart with a strange 
agony. What a mockery all this flashing and picturesque 
scenery of Boston bay, as I passed through it on the way to 
prison. Through it all I could see the horrid maw of the jail 



348 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAK. 

that awaited me, and the black veil that was to fall over my 
hopes, and drape my life in mourning. 

I was presented to Major Cabot, commandant of the fort, 
" registered," and was then asked to surrender my money and 
give an account of my effects. The latter proceedings were 
undertaken by Lieutenant Parry, the officer " in charge of 
prisoners," who dispensed with all that was unpleasant in 
them, and took my word that I had " neither weapons nor 
documents" in my baggage. This officer was very civil, and 
not only spared me the indignity of a search, but addressed me 
some polite common-places, kindly intended, I thought, to 
compose my mind. He inquired when I had left Richmond ; 
and asked, with an appearance of great interest, after the con- 
dition of General Longstreet, who had been wounded before I 
had taken my departure from the Confederacy. 

Here let me say, once for all, that I am satisfied the officers 
of Fort Warren showed, to the prisoners in their cliarge, all 
the kindness they could venture ; but, at the same time, I am 
forced to declare that this disposition could do but little to 
mitigate that system of jjunishinent of prisoners of war de- 
manded at Washington. 

I was consigned to a casemate, and a sack of straw for my 
bed. 

As I passed the sally-port, in charge of a corporal, my name 
was called out, and one of a melancholy group of men ad- 
vanced to meet me. It was Y. of Richmond, but I scarcely 
recognized him, for his hair had turned gray, and his prison 
attire made him a strange spectacle. '' You here !" I ex- 
claimed ; " how long have you been in tliis prison ?" " Eight- 
een months P^ was the solemn r^ply. I had never heard in 
Richmond of his arrest. But there were other terrible disclo- 
sures for me, which I had never heard in Richmond ; which 
the people had never heard in Richmond ; but which the Gov- 
ernment, in that Confederate city, had assuredly heard, and 
had kept to itself in silence and submission. 

Here in this fort, companions of my misfortune, were one 
hundred and sixty odd men, the majority of them prisoners 
for more than a year. 

Here, entombed in solitary confinement^ were seven brave 
soldiers of the Confederacy, taken in Yirginia and Tennessee. 



APPENDIX. S4:Q 

Here, sentenced by a Yankee court-martial to fifteen years 
imprisonment, were two Confederate officers, Major Armesy 
and Lieutenant Davis ; thus punished for recruiting Confed- 
erate troops in Western Virginia. 

Here, in the quarters allotted to solitary imprisonment 
(brought here), was Captain .Brattle, of Wheeler's cavalry, 
conveniently designated as a guerilla, and treated as a felon. 

I did not learn these facts without a shudder. How long 
was I to continue here, and the words " liow long V seemed to 
reverberate in my heart like a knell. I was too sick to eat, 
and did not go to the cook-house, where another horror of my 
prison awaited me. But I had learned enough for one day. 
As I laid upon my wretched bed at night, and watched the 
thin slice of moonlit sky, that shone through the grating, my 
nature seemed absorbed with unutterable horror. 

The hardships of a prison, its physical restraints, its beggar 
diet, are, after all, but slight evils, compared with the mental 
distress (aggravated, in my case, by a nervous constitution and 
diseased body), occasionally taking the form of a morbid agony, 
as the spirit wrestles for liberty. For the first time in my 
life I felt the meaning of "this precious word — no longer now 
the mere decantat'wii of poetry and sentiment. I had often 
used it as an idle ornament in language, but I little knew the 
sweet and hidden meanings of this noble word, how it signified 
the vital possession of man's nature, and contained the richest 
jewel of his inheritance from God. 



I found in the morning newspapers the anouncement of my 
incarceration, coupled with such comments as might be ex- 
pected from the cowardly malignity of a Yankee, where its ob- 
ject is a helpless prisoner. The announcement in one paper 
was entitled " A Brutal Villain." Another administered tfie 
following warning : 

" Some stronghold like that ia which he has been placed is the safest 
quarters Pollard can find, as he is a doomed man among the surviving pris- 
oners who have been released from Richmond." 

But the following in a Pennsylvania paper (Pittsburg Dis- 
patck) was a complimentary notice, especially to be preserved : 



350 * THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. . ' 

"To tins man's coarse, unfeeling brutality our men attribute no small 
share of the indignities and hardships heaped upon them in Richmond, and 
his voice was never heard but against them — never raised save to inculcate 
the justice or expediency of some newly devised brutality. He is one of 
that little band of malignants who have been engaged, heart and hand, for 
three years, in spreading among the ignorant masses of the South, the most 
villainous misrepresentations of the Government and the Northern people, 
and who have done more, as journalists, to sustain the rebel cause than regi- 
ments of soldiers in the field. For his exertions in this line, however, we 
could attbrd to trust him to the vengeance of the Government, but for his un- 
warranted and unmanly efforts to oppress the already overburdened prison- 
ers in Richmond, we look to another source for punishment. Our towns- 
man. Colonel Rose, and a score of others, well known and dear to us, have 
had a taste of this man's quality, and we ask for no other satisfaction than 
that chance may favor any one of them with a momentary meeting. There 
will assuredly be one educated villain less to labor in the rebel cause." 

Of course, one's flesh mii;-]it be expected to tingle at this 
foul and cowardly abuse. The next minute a sensible man 
would be inclined to laugh at it — especially the valiant threat 
of Colonel "Rose" and other flowers of Yankee chivah-y. In 
another moment reflection would teach him that he was com- 
plimented by such evidence of liis personal importance, and 
decorated, as every true Confederate is, by the libel of a Yankee 
newspaper. 

The sufierings I was to endure M'ere to be terrible enough ; 
but added to them was the constant smart of Yankee false- 
hood, which, ignoring the victims of its own cruelty, was in- 
cessantly publishing the imaginary misery of prisoners in 
Richmond and elsewhere in the Confederacy. One can have 
an idea of the smart of this misrepresentation, if he will imagine 
a Confederate cut off from tlie world by the walls of a prison, 
and compelled to chew his indignation in silence, reading every 
day in Yankee newspapeis some ncM^ version of " the barbar- 
ities of the rebels," and left to conjecture that the world is in- 
duced to believe these vile slanders, scattered to the ends of it, 
without the opportunity of any contradiction on the other 
side. But there is some possible comfort in the reflecti(»n, that 
Yankee falsehood in this war has overleaped itself. A people 
who, ravaging the country of their neiglibors, burning their 
houses and property, and stripping the shelter over the heads 
of women and children, yet entitle their adversary as savages., 
and assert themselves champions of civilization ; who, flgtiting 



APPENDIX. • 351 

for the fourth year an uuconqnered coiintrj, have, in the entire 
history of that war, represented every event as a Yankee suc- 
cess, and a mortal blow to the Confederacy, are no more dis- 
creditable witnesses in these particulars than when they parade 
before the world their nursery dramas of the horrors of "rebel" 
prisons. 

To the sufferings of my first days in Fort Warren my mem- 
ory reverts with an irrepressible shudder. If I had been in 
health I might easily have endured the hardships assigned me, 
including the straw sack; the diaphamous slices of bread and 
the bits of fat pork. But the nervous affection from which I 
had long suffered, and which was now aggravated by the anxi- 
eties and rude trials of imprisonment, liad taken an alarming 
aspect. A partial paralysis of my body threatened to succeed. 
I could not rise from my bed or from a long sitting without 
finding my arm, or perhaps my whole side, temporarily pow- 
erless. 

The kindness of my fellow-prisoners, in these circumstances, 
is never to be forgotten. I was relieved from my part of cook- 
ing and washing disiies, and was excused from " the police 
duty " assigned to prisoners, which included the cleaning of 
their quarters and a number of unpleasant tasks. My mess- 
mates came to my aid with friendly sympathy. I obtained 
medical advice from Dr. Ilambleton, of Georgia, my fellow- 
prisoner and excellent friend. Although I had but little faith 
in the justice or humanity of the Government at Washington, 
I thought it could scarcely insist upon torturing me, and would 
be satisfied to secure my person. I had applied for a parole 
on account of my health, but in vain had I waited for a 
reply. I had never, even, been allowed to see the order 
committing me to Fort Warren ; and it seemed that the au- 
thorities had not been willing to spare me any agony of doubt 
or suspense. 

I had been in prison nearly a fortnight, when I wrote the 
following letter to Washington ; 

Fort Wahren, Boston Harbor, June, 1864. 
Mr. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the United States Navy : 

Sir: On the 10th of last month, I was taken one hundred 
and fifty miles out at sea on a British vessel, where I was 
simply a citizen passenger, unconnected with any public ser- 



352 * THE THIKD YEAR OF THE "WAR. 

vice of the Confederate States, and subject to none of the 
military penalties of your Government. Other passengers 
were released ; I, alone, of all the ship's company, an innocent 
passenger, was doomed to Fort Warren. I was taken from a 
sick bed to be brought here. In these harsh and invidious 
circumstances, I asked but a parole on account of desperate 
health ; the bare concession of the plainest humanity. Since 
my confinement here, I have had three attacks of partial paral- 
ysis. It is now only left for me to declare to your conscience 
and to the sympathy of the world — not in terms of importunity 
or any mere personal disrespect, but in the spirit of a solemn 
conviction — that I am being murdered by an imprisonment, 
the object of which is not to secure my person (since I offered 
to do this by an inviolable pledge of honor) but to punish an 
enfeebled body, and sharpen the torture of a disease that 
claims pity for its helplessness, 

I am, etc., 

EDW'D A. POLLARD. 

To this letter I never received a word of reply or sign of 
heed. 



APPENDIX. 353 



CHAPTEE Y. 

JoTJRNAL Notes in Prison. — Precious Tributes of Sympathy. — Portrait of the Yan- 
kee. — A New England Shepherd. — Sufferings and Keflections. — Fourth of July in 
Fort Warren. 

June 17. — The hours weigh heavily upon me. In my im- 
prisonment and sickness I have yet much to be thankful for, 
especially in the assiduous and cheerful attentions of my fel- 
low-prisoner, Doctor Hambleton. The pastimes in our prison- 
life are meagre enough. Reading the newspapers and eviscer- 
ating Yankee falsehoods are our chief employments. 

The good friends I have made in Boston have not forgotten 
me, and I have frequent occasion to acknowledge their kind- 
ness in missions of sympathy and occasionally of " material" 
comfort, in articles of food banished by " orders from Wash- 
ington" from the slop-boards of our cook-house. Whatever 
thoughts I have of the cruel despotism at Washington and of 
those masses of population subject to it, my heart must always 
retain grateful and faithful memories of those few in a strange 
land who administered to my sorrow, and dared an expression 
of sympathy for me, when in the bonds of prison and disease. 

I have a valued and interesting correspondence with some 
noble ladies in Boston, whom I have never seen, but whose 
name^ are known to several of the prisoners here, who have 
had various tokens of their s}- mpathy. The correspondence in 
my case commenced with a present of delicious fruit, to which 
the card of the donor was attached. The charity of these 
ladies, and, more than all, the sentiments which have sweetened 
it, are treasured in the hearts of many prisoners here, and they 
may be sure that when the name and freedom of our beloved 
country shall no longer be disputed, their deeds will find a 
public record somewhere and be rewarded with conspicuous 
gratitude. 

Before this war I had lived several years in Washington 
and in ISTew York ; but from all the herd of my acquaintance 
in the North I have not yet had one line of sympathy or of 
remembrance. 

as 



oa-t THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Yet I have had letters from strangers — among them dear, 
noble countrywomen of mine in the enemy's lines — which have 
touched my heart with inexpressible gratitude and pride. 

I had been in prison but a few days when I received from 

Mrs. General , of Kentucky, a stranger to me, but the name 

of whose gallant husband, fallen on one of the bright fields of 
the war, lives in the glorious memories of the Confederacy, a 
letter of sympathy, subscribed, " a sincere though unknown 
friend." " Do you need aid ?" wrote this generous lady. " And 
■will you be allowed to receive any from your friends ? It 
w^ould be a pleasure to relieve your wants as far as we can." 

Yesterday I received a letter which is so remarkable, that I 
cannot forbear transcribing here some passages from it, and 
taking the liberty of adding the name of the writer^a liberty, 
I think, which a grateful memoir must admit, unless there is 
good reason to the contrary : — 

Praieikville, Pike County, Missouri, ) 
June 12th, 1864. ] 
Me. Edward A. Pollard (of Richmond, Va.) : 

I see from the papers that you are a prisoner of war at Fort 
"Warren. All prisoners need the attention of their friends. 
Though entirely unknown to you, I have still the honor to be 
a Virginian., and love from a sense of duty all of her worthy 
sons. If you need money, clothes, or any thing, write imme- 
diately and inform me, with directions to whose care to send 
them. I have a holy veneration for my Mother State, and if 
I failed to do any thing in my power for her brave sons, I 
would feel that I had neglected a religious duty. All of my 
relatives, except my father's immediate family, are in the " Old 
Dominion." I have had a brother at Camp Chase, and a 
cousin at Johnson's Island, and have cause to know how com- 
forting any sympathy is to the prisoner. Do not forget that 
you have many warm friends in Missouri, and in myself a faith- 
ful one. So do not fail to let me know if you wish any thing. 
I think, sir, that we partake of the independent spirit of our 
mother, and do not like to receive any thing from strangers ; 
but you know Virginians are not strangers, but brothers and 

sisters wherever they are found 

KATE B. WOODROOF. 



APPENDIX. 355 

Sweet lady, God bless you ! I wrote that I was in no such 
need as to tax the generosity of friends ; that the letter of my 
fair correspondent was itself a treasure ; that I was proud to 
have such a countrywoman. To think that she had written 
to a desolate prisoner thus from her distant home, with that 
hearty and persistent offer of assistance, so unlike cheap sym- 
pathy, so really anxious to oblige ! Well may Yirginia her- 
self be proud of such a daughter ! The fragrance of many a 
womanly deed breathes through the gorgeous wreath Yirginia 
has entwined in this war, and among these we would place 
this tribute of filial love from distant Missouri. 



June 18. — The following is an excellent picture of present 
Yankee society, which I came across to-day, in an odd book, 
which gave some account of France under the rule of Henry 
III. : 

" There was no more truth, no more justice, no more mercy. To slan- 
der, to lie, to rob, to wrench, to steal ; all things are permitted save to do 
right and speak the truth." 

What a perfect delineation of Washington and New York 
at the present day ! 



June 19. — The third Sabbath in my granite prison. Some 
one has had such care for the souls of Confederate prisoners as 
to have distributed among us a number of tracts, issued by the 
American Tract Society, 28 Cornhill, Boston. I have just fin- 
ished reading one of them, entitled " Love Your Enemies" — 
a characteristic specimen of the Puritan Christianity of the 
Yankee, the blasphemy and hrag of which have filled me with 
horror and disgust. 

The writer, evidently one of the pious spitfires of New Eng- 
land, sets out with a terrible denunciation of the Confederacy, 
and, with characteristic regard for historical truth, describes 
the Confederates as outraging our [Yankee] "kindred," and 
"lurking in traitorous ambush at our [Yankee] door-posts." 
He then speaks of " their threats and curses, their outbursts of 



356 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

furious fiend-like passion." After this very Cbristian vituper 
ation, and merciless vindication of the truth of history, our 
clerical friend encounters the question, how it is possible to 
pray that the wrath of the Lord be poured out upon the Con- 
federates, and yet to retain Christian love for the persons of 
their rebellious neighbors. And he surmounts the difficulty 
bravely. The cause of the Yankee is " the cause of God^'' and 
to pray for the destruction of the enemies of the Yankee is " to 
divest themselves of all personal and merely human considera- 
tions" for God's glory, and to sink the love of the neighbor in 
the higher duties of the Divine service. This morsel of pious 
logic and Puritan charity is put in the following words : 

"• David recognized in his foes the foes of Jehovah and his 
church, and planting himself by the very side of God, divinely 
inspired, he invoked the most terrible calamities, the most 
complete ruin, even eternal evil, upon his adversaries. Our 
cause, too, is the cause of God ; our foes the opposers of those 
principles of eternal truth, justice, and righteousness, which 
sustain the divine administration. But do we stand, where 
David did, in unity with the divine mind and will, moved by 
the same pure and holy impulses, equally divested of all per- 
sonal and merely human considerations ? If so, then we, too, 
in calm, holy, fervent supplication, may pray, ' Render unto 
our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom the reproach where- 
with they have reproached thee, O Lord !' " 

Has any one ever found any thing more characteristic of 
New England Christianity than this passage? a mixture of 
old Puritan self-righteousness and modern lying, that might 
refresh the appetite of the Infernal. Concocted, probably, by 
some fellow who nurses his white dainty flesh with lace neck- 
cloths, and spits pious venom in some fashionable church. 



July 1. — I was allowed to-day to see a physician 

from Boston, who accompanied my sister, under a permit from 
General Dix. 

This visit has been a precious occasion to me, and, I trust, 
has improved my resolution to suffer with as little complaint 
as possible. Even imprisonment is not without its compensa- 



APPENDIX. 357 

tions and uses ; is not necessarily a blank in one's life. We 
may learn noble virtues in prison, for it is a severe school 
where we are taught to moderate our desires and to confront 
misfortunes with that delBant patience, which more than all 
constitutes the force of character and tests the man. 

" To suffer, as to do, our strength is equal." 

There is compensation, too, in the reflection that my im- 
prisonment is in the name of my country, and that what I suf- 
fer is a sacrifice for it. It is true we all of us must contrib- 
ute to the cause of our country in some form or other — and 
how little have I ever contributed to it, that I should be- 
grudge this suffering in its name, and how many more deserv- 
ing than myself, with mutilated limbs, or broken hearts, have 
yet virtue to thank God that they have been able thus to tes- 
tify their principles! These are salutary thoughts, which 
should chasten my pride and impatience, and teach me how 
little and unworthy I am, to resent the fortune which has 
made me a prisoner. 



Fourth qfJuly.—CB,ipta,m Murden, of South Carolina, a fel- 
low prisoner, has celebrated the day by the following lines, 
entitled " The Confederate Oath," which we have all " taken." 
It is given as a specimen of the Fort Warren Muse, and as a 
sentiment appropriate to the day we celebrate ; — 

Aye, raise aloft that gory pall 

Of Freedom's bleeding corse, 
While craven minions, shouting all. 

Its infamy indorse. 
Gape, cannon, your infernal throats. 

Belch at the despot's word, 
"While Liberty's expiring notes 

Are in thine echoes heard. 
Blow winds, from these accursed walls, 

And to the world proclaim 
How wronged, insulted. Freedom calls 

To stay the branding shame. 
Tell of the rights our fathers' claimed, 

And claiming, dared maintain, 
Tell of the deeds in history famed, 

Which broke the tyrani's chain. 



358 THE THIED YEAK OF THE WAK. 

Then, tell again, how Avarice sapped 

The fame to Freedom reared : 
How Lust, in false religion wrapped, 

To boasting minds appeared. 
And let thy breath the poison bear 

Of Puritanic guile. 
And in thy voice let nations hear 

The bowlings of the vile. 
Aye, hoist that foul, dishonored flag, 

While truckling millions bow, 
And kiss the rod, the chain, and gag. 

Upheld in terror now. 

And we, who see, and hear, and feel, 

That mockery of this day. 
Shall we, in servile cringing, kneel. 

And own the despots' sway ? 
No, by the rights our sires won, 

No, by the rights we claim, 
No, while our wrathful blood may run, 

No, in our country's name, 
No, by our fields of wasted grain, 

No, by our smoking walls, 
No, by the Vandal-trodden plain. 

Our sack'd and ruined halls ! 
* Bring from each corner of the land 

The demon's waste and wreck, 
Bring murderous axe, and smoking brand, 

The hateful pile to deck. 
Then think upon the widow's wail, 

Think of the maiden's tear. 
Think of each wrong the Southern gale 

Brings to your sickened ear : 
Then by each smoke ; then by each thrust 

Which caused one anguished thrill ; 
Then by each deed of hate and lust. 

Each heart recorded ill : 
Then swear while life's red current flows, 

While flint can yield the spark. 
While arm can nerve for vengeful blows, 

Or bullet reach its mark, — 
New England's lust, New England's greed, 

Need seek no Southern sky, 
While powder burns, or knife can bleed, 

Who seeks our soil must die I 



APPENDIX. 359 



CHAPTEE YL 

JovBNAL Notes Continued. — Life in the Casemates. — Some of the Secrets of 
Foreign "Neutrality." — Southern "Aristocracy." — My Boston Benefactress. — Lin- 
colniaua. — Massachusetts " Chivalry." 

July 5. — We have quite a mixed lot of prisoners here. 
The officers and crews of the Atlanta and Tacony are confined 
her«, and to Captain Webb of the first, and Lieutenant Reed of 
the latter, I am particularly indebted for much entertainment 
and kindness. To tell the truth, it is not often you hear intel- 
ligent conversation among associates in a prison, or obtain any 
experience of small courtesies ; selfishness, stupidity, vacancy 
of mind, are most frequently the results of the harsh and scanty 
life within the casemates, unless one should happen to have 
been bred a gentleman, for truly no man is " born " such. 

But I have been most fortunate in my mess, and I have yet 
to notice any instance of bickering or of selfish overreaching 
among us. Yet we have plenty of pleasant controversy. My 
good friend, Marrs (engineer of the ill-fated Cuba), keeps us all 
alive with his constant intention of " raising h — 1 " : a vague 
threal; which I have never yet seen him put into practical exe- 
cution, for he really has an amiable and generous sentiment for 
everything but the Yankee. Captain Black reads the news- 
paper aloud every night, and Marrs punctuates with senten- 
tious exclamations. Then we have the invariable quarrel of 
each night about shutting windows and putting out the lights, 
two proceedings which always give rise to difierences of 

opinion. Marrs must have everything read of the "d d 

Yankees," or must have Captain Murden recite his composition 
of patriotic poetry for the day, before he can compose himself 
to sleep, which he at last does with objurgations not to be men- 
tioned to ears polite. 



360 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE WAR. 

July 6. — There are various devices here to induce prisoners 
to swallow the oath of Yankee allegiance. The most infamous 
is that practised upon the foreigners, who have been taken on 
privateers or running the blockade, and who, through the 
offices of tlieir consuls in New York and Boston, have been * 
offered their release on condition of taking the Yankee oath of 
allegiance, and clinching it by enlistment in the Yankee army 
or navy. 

In fact, there appeal* to be none of the rights of alienage re- 
cognized in Yankee jurisdiction. One must "holler" for the 
Union under all circumstances. In connection with these com- 
pulsory tests applied to foreigners, who are in the unfortunate 
category of blockade-runners, &c., I may supply the following 
paragraph, which I read some days ago in a letter from Wash- 
ington, published in a New York paper : 

" It appears that the rebel authorities again allow aliens to pass through 
their lines, as quite a large number of these refugees have reached this city 
within the past few days. To-day eighteen presented themselves at the 
provost-marshal's office, and took the oath of allegiance." 

So, these men, whose neutral rights had been respected in 
the Confederacy, find, on reaching Washington, that it is 
necessary or convenient for them to take the Yankee oath of 
allegiance. It would seem, indeed, that the Yankees have 
assumed the task of annexing all nations to their political for- 
mulas, overriding all the predilections of foreigners and con- 
trolling the sympathies of the world. The arbiters of civiliza- 
tion, the bullies of all Christendom, the coxcombs of creation, 
they demand everything to give way as Mr. Lincoln "runs his 
machine " and dispenses the wisdom and bounty of " the best 
government the world ever saw." 



July^.—We had quite a discussion in our mess to-day. One 
of the company remarked that in South Carolina a mechanic 
was not respected as he should be. I took occasion to advance 
some peculiar opinions of my own : That the democracy at the 
North was an utterly false one, being an insolent assertion of 



APPENDIX. 361 

equality, a sort of " d— n you, I am as good as you are," which 
placed two classes in society in an exasperated and bitter con- 
test that was constantly going on in Yankeedom beneath the 
outward semblances of its social laws ; that this insolent demo- 
cracy was especially the product of free schools, that educated 
the population just to the point of irreverence and egotism; 
that in the South there was to be found the most perfect de- 
mocracy in the world ; that there was a voluntary and tacit 
acknowledgment of distinctions in Southern society (hence the 
conservatism of this part of America), and that, this difference 
once implied, the intercourse between the diiferent classes was 
unrestricted and genial, with a pleasant admission of equality 
in all respects where equality was to be properly admitted. 
These propositions might be expanded into illustration and 
argument enough to make a book. But surely any one who 
knows anything of the South must have observed the easy and 
pleasant intercourse between its social classes, in which the 
humblest is treated with polite respect, so much in contrast to 
those insulting assumptions on the one hand and browbeating 
on the other, which make up Yankee society. Where a labor- 
ing man would, in the North, be stopped at the door of the 
rich by a servant and held at arm's length in any intercourse 
the patron might find necessary wdth him, in the South he 
might be asked to dinner— certainly, would be treated with 
much more real respect than by the aristocratic Yankee with 
whom he contests the claim of equality and fraternity. 



July 8.— I have received to-day a gratifying letter from my 
lady friend in Boston. She writes : 

" Remember that you are to count us among your friends ; and what is 
the use of friends, if you will not give them the privilege of ministering to 
you in prison. Send to us for any thing you need. We are of the practi- 
cal style, and our fingers and feet, as well as our heads and hearts, are at 
your service." 

Such testimonies of sympathy illuminate the prison, and make 
us think more kindly of the world outside. 



362 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE WAR. 

July 14. — The Yankee newspapers we have got here, for sev- 
eral days past, have been in an incessant gabble about Early's 
and Breckinridge's invasion of Maryland. Apropos^ here is a 
good " slap" at Massachusetts, from a Kew York paper : ^ 

" The Boston Journal, in a fit of heroics, wants to know how far an 
invading army of Confederates could march into Massachusetts. That 
would depend upon the time allowed the officials of that State to visit Ken- 
tucky and recruit." 



APPENDIX. 363 



CHAPTER YII. 

"Have we a GovEiiNMENT ?" — A Commentary on " Eetaliation." 

July 15. — There is one question here constantly on the lips, 
or in the meditations of the prisoners. It is, "Have we a 
Government ?" "We do not hear of any thing done by the 
Richmond authorities in behalf of tens of thousands of Confed- 
erate prisoners, and we are left starkly and desperately to the 
contingencies of the future. 

We know very well that it is not the fault of our Govern- 
ment that an exchange of prisoners is not made. Such an 
exchange has been estopped by the choice and action of the 
Yankees ; and in doing S05 this vile and sinister people have 
, eiFected one of the most barbarous penalties of war — captivity. 
Such a penalty is opposed to the spirit and humanity of the 
age ; in civilized war, the only object of taking prisoners is to 
exchange them, certainly not to condemn them to the savage 
horrors of captivity. 

But, then, although our government is acquitted of the non- 
execution of the cartel, and this brutal infraction of civilized 
usage," why does it not manifest what concern it can for its 
prisoners, in some substantial acts of retaliation for the intoler- 
able and terrible atrocities attendant on their imprisonment. 
This is where the question pinches. It is, with respect to out- 
rages upon its prisoners that the Confederate Government has 
most abundant occasion and opportunity for retaliation ; and it 
is with respect to this that it has done less to satisfy justice and 
vindicate the rights of a belligerent. 

There is a pitiable page of sophistry and weakness in the 
records of this war. It is the history of Jeflerson Davis's policy 
of retaliation. While that history has afforded no instance of 
a single substantial act of retribution, it is replete with jpretences 
of such, designed to conciliate the popular demand for retal- 
iation, and to impose upon the world an appearance of spirit. 



361 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

These pretences have been silly enough. Some days ago I 
read in the newspapers, that the authorities at Richmond had 
placed certain Yankee prisoners in a house in Charleston, in 
retaliation for the attempted bombardment of a city still in- 
habited by women and children. What nonsense ! The peril 
of the prisoners is imaginary, when women and children walk 
the streets where they are placed without fear ; yet it is a con- 
venient text for the Yankee on the subject of " rebel barbar- 
ities," and an occasion, perhaps, for a prejudice against us, , 
wherein we profit nothing. 

The subject of Yankee prisons is theme enough for retaliation. 
There are in this fort, condemned to solitary confinement, cer- 
tain Confederate prisoners, whose terrible doom calls loudly 
for the interposition of their Government, and illustrates how 
that Government has stultified itself by submission to the 
claims of the Yankee to enact the part of magistrate over those 
whom the fate of war has placed in their hands. I have been 
enabled to obtain some facts about these unhappy men. 



CASE OF MAJOR ARMESY, &C. 

Major Thomas D. Armesy was formerly a private in the 
Thirty-first Virginia regiment. He had raised a company in 
Western Virginia, near Clarksburg, and having turned this 
over to the Confederate service, went back in the spring of 
1863, commissioned to raise a battalion in this part of Virginia. 
William F. Gordon, the adj utant of his old regiment, also took 
a part in this recruiting service, and was commissioned a cap- 
tain in Armesy's battalion. 

In April, 1863, Armesy, Gordon, and Lieutenant Harris, 
were captured by the Yankees in the houses where they were 
staying. They had taken the precaution to destroy their mus- 
ter rolls, and to appoint a rendezvous for their recruits outside 
of the enemy's lines of occupation. 

Armesy and Davis were taken to Fort Norfolk (near Nor- 
folk, Va.), thence to Fortress Monroe, apparently for exchange ; 
when they were suddenly ordered back to Fort McHenry in 
October, 1863. 

They were tried ')iij a Yankee court-martial. They were 



APPENDIX. 865 

charged with recruiting in Western "Virginia, a part of the 
Southern Confederacy, represented in its Congress, and, though 
overrun by the enemy, yet, legally, by the act of secession of 
the State, and by the express organization of our revolution, 
within the Confederate jurisdiction. There was but a single 
specification to the charge : The official order of the War De- 
partment of the Confederate States, authorising the recruiting 
service in which Armesy had heen engaged. On this charge and 
specification Armesy and Davis were sentenced to fifteen years' 
imprisonment at hard labor. 

A yet more terrible judgment was reserved for Gordon, who 
had also been confined at Fort McHenry^ He was sentenced 
to be shot. On the day appointed for his execution in the 
fort, the brave Confederate had taken leave of his family, and 
had been marched out, carrying his shroud under his arm, 
with a dauntless air, when an order came from "Washington, 
revoking the sentence. 

The sentence of Armesy and Davis was executed by putting 
them to the dirtiest and vilest work in the fort, cleaning sinks, 
&c. They were subsequently transferred to Fort Delaware, 
and thence they were brought to this fort ; their sentence be- 
ing so far modified as to require them to serve out their term 
of fifteen years in solitary confinement. 



366 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE WAE. 



CHAPTER Vin. 

An Episode in Prison. — A Council in the Casemates. 

July 16. — ^There has been a commotion in the prisoners' quar- 
ters in this fort to-day that so far exceeds the even routine of 
our days that it is entitled to a separate chapter and, indeed, to 
a train of important reflection. 

It appears that some days ago the Boston Courier had pub- 
lished a certain report that Major Cabot, the commandant 
here, had punished Confederate prisoners by compelling them 
to carry billets of wood on the ramparts. The report was un- 
true. It was contradicted by Major Cabot in the Journal. 
Thus the affair had passed out of mind when the following ex- 
traordinary publication, in the worst Abolition paper in Bos- 
ton, fell upon us this morning like a bomb-shell — 

FoET Waeeen, July 13, 1864. 
Major S, Cabot: 
Dear Sir, we were truly mortified this evening on reading 
the Boston Journal^ that you had been obliged to deny the 
slanderous attack — evidently intended upon your character — 
this being the only fort in Boston harbor wherein " Confed- 
erate prisoners" are confined. 

We feel it not only a duty, but as an act of justice to your- 
self to deny emphatically the truthfulness of the communica- 
tion which appeared in the Courier of yesterday, oveV the sig- 
nature of W. J. F., purporting to be founded " upon the most 
ample authority." On the contrary, there are a very large 
number of " Confederate prisoners" who have been under your 
charge for more than twelve months, and we have always re- 
ceived at your hands nought but kindness and every attention 
and privilege consistent with the proper duties of your posi- 
tion. I have been requested by the prisoners to state that if 
you deem it necessary, you are at liberty to publish this letter. 

In behalf of the prisoners under your charge, I have the 
honor to be, very respectfully, yours, &c., 

— — f Prisoner of War. 



APPENDIX. 867 

The fact was, that the prisoner who had composed for the 
Yankee press this compound of very objectionable grammar 
and gratuitous eulogy had done so on the responsibility of not 
more than th7'ee prisoners in the fort, the remaining hundred 
or so being entirely ignorant of this preparation of gratuitous 
incense to our jailors. I have suppressed the name of the 
author of the communication, from a firm conviction, shared 
by all the prisoners with whom I have conversed, that he 
acted contrary to his better nature ; that, though thoughtless, 
he was a faithful and zealous Confederate ; and that he had 
been misled by interested advice into something worse than a 
faux pas. 

The whole day has been one of excited criticism and sage 
pow-wow on this, our unexpected appearance, in Yankee 
prints. After much consultation, the subjoined letter was pre- 
pared for publication in a Boston paper, but was withheld 
from it, since the writer of the obnoxious piece agreed to dis- 
claim publicly the authority he had assumed, to represent the 
prisoners in the fort [which he afterwards, I believe, did]. 
While, therefore, it was not deemed necessary to publish in 
the Boston newspapers the following expression of opinion, 
yet the prisoners who signed it desired that it should be pre- 
served and placed on appropriate record, as a testimony of 
their sense of propriety and duty in the general matter of the 
behavior of prisoners. I have, therefore, introduced it here, 
with the names of its subscribers, as a record of Fort Warren 
that belongs to the Confederacy. 

FoET "Warren, Boston Haeboe, July 16, 1864. 
To THE Editor of the Boston Journal: 

Sir: We, the undersigned. Confederate prisoners in Fort 
Warren, have noticed with great surprise, a statement ad- 
dressed by , prisoner, &c., to Major Cabot, and 

published by that officer in the Journal, stating " on behalf of 
the prisoners," &c., that " we" were " truly mortified" at a 
certain " slanderous attack " in the Courier, concerning that 
officer's treatment of prisoners, and proceeding, after these re- 
grets, to contradict the same. In making this statement, Mr. 

did not consult us ; did not inform us ; and does not 

represent us. We, therefore, request that you will grant us 



363 



THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 



the same favor in your columns afforded to Major Cabot, to 
correct what you have published, and to say that we repudiate 

the statement Mr. has assumed to make in our behalf. 

"We do this because this statement refers to a matter entirely 
between Major Cabot and his accuser, with which we have 
nothing to do ; because there is no occasion on our part for ex- 
planation — still less for sentiment — in a matter for which we are 
not responsible and with which we have nothing to do ; and be- 
cause — solely from our self-respect, without reference to the 
merits or demerits of the case in hand, without design either to 
cast an injurious reflection upon Major Cabot, or to bestow a 
eulogy upon him — we are so far sensible of the delicacy of our 
position as prisoners that we cannot see the propriety of our in- 
terfering as volunteers in a newspaper controversy, making our- 
selves the uncalled for panegyrists of any man, and putting our- 
selves unnecessarily and indecorously before an invidious public. 

John W. Carey, c. s. n. 
J. Gillian King, c. s. n. 
T. L, Wragg, c. 8. N. 
James H. Hoggins. 
James J. Spear, c. s. a. 
a. L. Drayton, c. s. n. 
James R. Milburn. 



S. F. Marshall. 

A. H. B., c, 8. A. 

W, D. Archer, c. s. a. 

Cha8. W. Delour, c. 8. A. 

D. W. S. Knight. 
James McLeod, c. s. a. 
Daniel Moor. 
Robert Hunt. 

A. Stewart. 

Jos. M. Hertwood, c. s. n. 

James P. Hambleton, of Ga. 

C. T. Jenkins, Fla. 

Joseph Leach, New Orleans, La. 

E. 0. Murden, Charleston, S. C. 



Edw'd a. Pollard. 

W. W. Austin. 

W. MoBlais, c. s. n. 

J. A. Peters, c. s. n. 

W. A. Webb, c. s. n. 

Chas, W. Milburn. 

G. H. Arlidge, Lieut, c. s. n. 

C. W. Read, Lt. c. s. n. 

W. B. Micon, Asst. Pay'r, c, s. n. 

E. H. Browne, c. s. n. 

J. A. G. Williamson, c. s. n. 
Jos. S. West, c. s. n. 
Thos. B. Travers, o. 8. N. 

F. B. Beville, c. s. n. 
Thos. L. Hernandez. 
John E. Billups, c. s. N. 
f. n. bonneau, c. 8. a. 
R. H. Gayle, c. s. n. 

J. M. Vernon. 

Thomas Marr, Mobile, Ala. 

Augustus P. Girard, Mobile, Ala. 



The unpleasant occurrences of to-day have recalled some 
questions which have frequently been present to my mind, 
with respect to the proper behavior of men who occupy the 



APPENDIX. 369 

unfortunate, and, in many senses, trying and delicate position 
of prisoners of war. It is certainly just and becoming that 
prisoners should recognize the kindness and courtesy of those 
who keep them ; but this must be done in a proper way, and 
on a proper occasion, certainly not by the disgusting methods 
of a puff, or for the selfish and contemptible gain of the ene- 
my's favor. Justice can be done even to an enemy, and it is 
only a base spirit that has recourse to falsehood and libel for 
its miserable revenge. 

I think it is Kousseau, in his " Confessions," who tells of 
some person who, after breaking with a friend, went through 
the community, announcing: "Listen neither to this person 
nor myself, when speaking of each other ; for we are no longer 
friends." The Frenchman claims this as magnanimous. I^ot 
so. A candid and honorable person can fulfil exactly and 
severely the obligations of truth to all men, and the confession 
that he and liis enemy are equally disreputable in their state- 
ments, lowers him to the standard of that enemy, whatever it 
may be. 

In these jjages, I have made it a point to recognize what- 
ever kindness has been shown me, although I have had no 
occasion to intrude such things into Yankee newspapers. 

My own conception of the proper behavior of one in the 
condition of a prisoner of war is, that he should consult the 
dignity of his country, keep aloof from all unnecessary conver- 
sation or contact with his enemy, and preserve a simple severi- 
ty of manner, which, while guarding against any appearance 
of subserviency, equally avoids the imputation of an unman- 
nerly insolence. For I have perceived that there are two ex- 
tremes to be shunned in the behavior of prisoners. One is 
toadyism. The other, and not less contemptible, is that brag- 
gadocio or swagger which affects to be patriotic spirit; but, 
in the condition of a prisoner, and under the protection which 
that affords, is really nothing more than a display of venture- 
some cowardice and native vulgarity. It is not necessary, for 
a prisoner to show his " Southern spirit," that he should quar- 
rel with corporals and orderlies, and make insolent speeches 
to the oflScers who are put over him. Such a course invites 
insult and betrays the qualities which pocket it with indiffer- 
ence. 

24 



370 THE TIIIKD YEAK OF THE WAR. 

In medio tutissimus ibis. The prisoner of war mnst recog- 
nize himself as in the temporary power of his enemy, and make 
a becoming submission. But, on the other hand, he must 
never omit to be sensible of the dignity of his country and 
himself, or forget to moderate his civility with the considera- 
tions of self-respect and propriety. 



APPENDED 371 



CHAPTEE IX. 

Journal Notes Eesumed. — Protest to Lord Lyons. — " Peace Negotiations." — Com- 
forting Words of a Boston Lady. 

July 20. — I have ended my affair with Lord Lyons. I re- 
ceived to-day his reply to a letter I wrote him some days ago, 
and have rejoined, which, I suppose, concludes this vexatious 
correspondence. Copies of all three letters are annexed, and I 
shall spare myself any commentary upon them in my journal. 

In Peison, at Fokt Waeren, Boston Haeboe, ) 

July 11, 1864. J 

LoED Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary, &c., for Her Britannic Majesty, near 
Washington, D. 0.: 

My Lokd : Will you please inform me what results have 
been reached, or proceedings taken by Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment, with reference to my application for release from this 
prison, by virtue of the protection of the British flag, under 
which I was taken on the high seas. 

I was brought here from a sick bed, at an hour's notice, and 
have been afflicted in my confinement with partial paralysis ; 
and I am sure that this much said of the extremity of my sit- 
uation^ will be sufficient to acquit me of importunity in again 
seeking at the hands of your Lordship a termination of my 
sufferings. 

I have the honor, &c., your obedient servant, 

ED WD. A. POLLAED. 



Beitish Legation, Washington, July 17, 1864. 
Sir : Your letter of the 11th instant reached me yesterday. 
In reply to the question which you ask, I have to inform you 
that I received yesterday afternoon the answer of Her Majes- 
ty's Government to the Despatches which I addressed to them 
on the subject of the capture of the Greyhound, and in 
which I inclosed copies of your letters to me. 



372 THE THIRD TEAR OF THE WAR. 

The general instructions of Her Majesty's Goverument pre- 
clude my interfering without special orders from them, in be- 
half of American citizens captured on board British vessels, 
seized for breach of blockade ; and as Her Majesty's Govern- 
ment have not, on the present occasion, ordered me to inter- 
fere in your behalf, it is, of course, my duty to abstain from 
doing so. 

I am. Sir, your obedient servant, 

LYOITS. 

Edward A. Pollard, Esq., Fort Warren, Boston. 



Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, July 22, 1864. 
Lord Lyons, Envoy Extraordinary for Her Britannic Majesty, near Wash- 
ington, D. 0. : 

My Lord : I thank you for your courtesy in replying to my 
different letters. I have, of course, no further claim to make 
upon it in that regard. But it is not imj)roper that I should 
express a respectful dissent from the conclusion you have 
reached, and inform you that whenever released from prison, 
I shall prefer to the Home Government of Her Majesty a 
formal claim for indemnity for a damaging and cruel impris- 
onment, to which I consider I have been subjected by the 
failure to obtain that protection under a neutral flag, which 
was due to me under the law of nations and that of humanity. 

I cannot concede, what is certainly a novel and inhuman 
doctrine in international law, that a passenger on a British 
vessel which has broken the blockade, is so tainted in the 
breach of blockade that he may be taken on the high seas^ 
under the neutral flag, as human prize by his enemy. If, as 
I am left to understand, ray Lord, this is the position of your 
Government, it follows that it assents to a system of Kidnap- 
ping under its flag on the high seas, and establishes against 
itself an astounding Precedent. For if I, a passenger, was a 
legal prize on the Greyhound, then the British passenger in the 
same circumstances is equally so, being no more protected by 
the British flag on the high seas than I should be, myself; and 
if, in these same circumstances, the Englishman does not share 
my fate, but is absolved by diplomatic intercession, this is the 



APPENDIX. 3Y3 

favor of the Yankee Government, whicli may at any time be 
withdrawn. 

At one time your Lordship wrote me that you had re- 
quested my release. At another time, you write you cannot 
interfere in my behalf in any manner whatever. I am left to 
imao;iue that there is no other cause for this contradiction than 
that I am a citizen of a friendless and persecuted Government, 
towards which, yours, my Lord, professes neutrality, but, I 
must say, practices uniform disfavor. 

Whenever restored to liberty I shall have full opportuutity 
to testify to the damage of my imprisonment, as measure of 
the indemnity I shall claim from the British Government. 
But your Lordship will already perceive from the enclosed 
copy of my letter to the Secretary of the United States Navy, 
which has never been answered or noticed by him, that I have 
in vain entreated a parole on account of my health, in circum- 
stances which appeal not only to sentiments of pity, but to the 
lowest senses of humanity. 

I trust that your Lordship will find nothing in what I have 
written inconsistent with the high and courteous consideration 
due personally to yourself, or improper to be communicated, 
as I desire, to your Government in the interests of justice and 
humanity. I have the honor, &c.. 

Your obedient servant, 

EDWD A. POLLARD. 

July 21. — It appears from Yankee newspapers which have 
got into the casemates, that there has been undertaken at Ni- 
agara Falls a peace negotiation after the style of Brandreth's 
pills advertisements ; in which Horace Greeley is intermediary 
of the Confederates, George N. Saunders, their fugleman — a 
flippant telegram of the latter to James Gordon Bennett, com 
niencing the proceedings. It is to be hoped there is nothing 
in all this : that the Confederate Government has not for the 
fourth time in this war, when there is already a standing ten- 
der of peace and an abundant definition of its terms in the 
oflicial acts and expressions of Congress and the Executive, 
sought the hack-door of Washington, and put itself in a posi- 
tion to be snubbed and cufied out of countenance by the master 
of the " White House." But we shall see how much of au- 



374 THK THIIiD YEAlt OF TllK WAR. 

Iliotil y tlicro in in tli(;8C proceedings, and ]io\v much of the Bclf- 
cxliibition of notorioty-liuritcrH and adventurers. In tlic mean 
time our little circle here entertains itself with the credulity of 
the Yankee newspapers, and tlieir remarkable fecundity in mak- 
\\\pr the winh father to tlie thought. An intelligent friend in Bos- 
ton writes me this evening, in dead earnest, " terms of peace 
are passing over the wires," and concludes with a flourish of 
piety iind u Airvent thanksgiving for the hapj^y news. 



July 22. — We were permitted for the first time this morn- 
ing tiO walk a short distance on the island. I was touched to 
see tlie gi-av(j of a Confederate j)i'iKoner beneath the ramparts. 

On our return to the caseniateH I found in the morning mail 
a comforting and sweet letter IVoin my lady friend in Boston. 
I cannot forbear making an extract from it, as an evidence of 
the kind and (Jhi'iHtian Hj)irit of this ex(;<illent i)erson : 

.... "I cHii wiill uiKlorntiUHl ill! yon iiiiikI, siiirur of iuixioty, and I syin- 
Iiiilliizo JiioHl <l()C|)ly wilJi you. Jt Ih Imnl to bring onc'n reuBon and philos- 
oi)liy to tlic I'cHciu), inidcr circnniHtantiCH of Hwh peculiar trial. But, my 
dear fricjud, when tliOHO fail, fail.li coniuH in, and your licart will bo lifted 
out of tlio dopfcliH, and comforted in the aasuranco that joy will Burely come 
after a night of darkncHH and desolation. In quietness and conjidenee shall 
he your strenr/tk; and, if J ask you to trust, I am sure you will bear with 
me, and n(jt tliink I am preaching to you. If I cared Iohh, I would not say 
thin to you. JJiit it Haddeiis me to know that you are HulTering from a mis- 
erable feeling of illne.sH and depression ; and in my longing to do or say 
something to comfoi't you, 1 may run — as wonu^n are aj>t to do — into what 
you woidd not be l)lameil for considering pious jdatitudes." 

"1 hope you will like and iind readable Trescott's Life.' I have not 
road it yet, but promise myself that pleasure. If you will give the volume 
we send a place in your library, it will hereafter recall to you a passage ia 
your life, which you may then not bo entirely unwilling to remember. For 
this reason, I trust you will not consider it a burden, that I ask you not to 
return it. liemeMd)er if you think o( any thin;/ you would like, you are to 
write at ouco to iio. — for it. May Ciod bless you, dear friend." 



APPENDI3:. 375 



CHAPTER X. 

Journal Notes Continued. — A Yankee's Confession : Confederate Civilization. — 
A " Map of Busy Lifu" in Boston. — . . . Sickness and Keflections in Prison : 
Female PLilosopliy on the War. 

July 25. — The Boston Traveller says : " It would only be as 
the vanquished tliat we could consent to Southern ' independ- 
ence.' For observe wliat that ' independence' would mean. It 
would mean our abdication of tlie position of the American 
nation. Let but the Soutlicrn Confederacy be acknowledged 
by us, and it would succeed immediately to the place formerly 
held by the United States, in the estimation of the world. 
It would become the first power in North America, and, if 
Maximilian should there succeed, Mexico would have the 
second place, while ours should be the third." 

The Yankee is right. We Confederates are not only fighting 
in this war for independence, but for the front rank in the civi- 
lization of this continent, and for a destiny of power as well as 
of liberty. Such considerations ennoble the contest. Such 
prizes should stimulate our exertions. 

But, apart from this reflection, tiiere is an important truth 
involved in the declaration quoted above, which the Boston 
editor unconsciously admits and does not develope. It is that 
the South represents in this contest the better part of Ameri- 
can civilization, represents superior ideas, represents what is 
most valuable in the traditions of the past, for it is only by 
such titles she could succeed " to the place formerly held by 
the United States." 

And here opens an infinite field of interest to the intelligent 
inquirer. A comparison : on the one side, the North — its 
false and phosphorescent civilization — showy free schools, the 
nests of every social pestilence — material gauds — a society rot- 
ten with insolent agrarianism called " democracy ;" on the 
the other side, the South — its virtuous simplicity — the extra- 
ordinary intelligence of a people educated, not so much by 



'376 THE THIKD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

books, as by free institutions and by a peculiarly free inter- 
change of mind between all classes of society — a popular inno- 
cence of mad reforms, " isms," morbid appetites, unnatural 
vices, and other products of New England free schools — and, 
most conspicuous of all, a true and noble democracy ; of which 
it may be said that, though the white laboring men of the 
South defers to those who are his superiors (not indeed in 
rights, but in the various particulars of society), no one more 
quickly or effectually than he resents the insult or contumely 
of power. Here are heads of reflection for a volume ; and 
somebody should write it, to show the world how little it 
knows of the Confederacy, and how much it has been deluded 
by the lies, the boasts, the Thrasonical literature, and Puritani- 
cal pretence of the Yankee. 



July 28. 

" What is it, but a map of busy life." — Cowpeb. 

I have been interested to-day in a specimen of Yankee liter- 
ature, " for the home-circle ;" the Boston Saturday Evening 
Gazette^ an excellent specimen of that New England family 
literature which crops out in hebdomadals, illustrated papers, 
and other tokens of literary civilization. 

With the usual amount of maudlin stories and poetry and 
reading matter for the home-circle, the Saturday Evening 
Gazette furnishes its readers with a double-rate advertisement, 
in editorial type, on the terrors of masturbation. This adver- 
tisement of a Boston quack is entitled " an essay," and placed 
in a conspicuous part of the paper, where it is impossible for 
the eye to avoid the nasty mess of literature and obscenity. 

Let us look at the editorial columns. First we have the 
report of a sermon of a Boston clergyman, who edifies us with 
this discovery in the history and politics of America : 

" The war of 1812 was an aggressive war, commenced in opposition to 
the wisdom of our best and wisest statesmen, to help Napoleon Bonaparte, 
the bulwark of despotism on the continent, and to destroy England, the 
last refuge in the whole world for the oppressed." 

Following this instructive sermon are editorial " puffs" of 



APPENDIX. 377 

various descriptions. A correspondent, whose palm has been 
evidently greased, gives the foUoMnng glowing description of 
the attractions of a watering-place, which is evidently a candi- 
date for public favor, with " its polite young lady waiters :" 

" The tables at this house are filled with the choicest viands of the sea- 
son, and being all short tables, each family may enjoy the benefits and 
pleasures of a full six-course dinner, as the ladies ordinary, at three 
o'clock, is the dress dinner of the day, without being obliged to await the 
tedious formula of the long-table system. The attendants of the house are 
in the most part from your city, and we believe they are excellent selec- 
tions, as the whole house has that air of sociability and contentment so 
peculiar to houses of its kind in the old Bay State. Hark ! I hear the 
gong that reminds me that Putnam, with his host of polite young lady 
waiters, is ready to serve the ladies' ordinary, where I can witness the 
best-dressed ladies and enjoy an excellent dinner, all at the same time." 

The Gazette is not sparing in its puffs. The reader is 
informed, in an editorial paragraph, of a certain person who 
cleans old clothes by steam. The editor vouches for him that 
" work will be done in that astute stjde for which he' is re- 
nowned." 

The reader's attention is next called to a camp-meeting in 
the vicinity of Boston. " These gatherings," says the seduc- 
tive editor, " partake somewhat of the character of a picnic, 
and afford to many almost the only recreation of the season!''' 
Who would not visit this scene of New England piety, after 
such a recommendation, and the information that twenty-five 
cents will give him a passage on the " unrivalled" line of 
Blowhard & Co., to this pleasant Canaan ! 

Following the editorial matter, is an advertisement by the 
column of miraculous cures of almost every disease ima^nnable, 
invariably attested by the certificates of " clergymen." These 
medical advertisements are irrepressible, effulgent, and difficult 
to be epitomized. Here we have Cancer and Canker Syrup, 
Amboline (for the hair). White Pine Compound, Howard's 
Vegetable Syrup, " Ironized" Catawba Wine, Indian Emmen- 
nagogue, Cherokee Injection (with picture of big Indian), Dr. 
Wriglit's Kegenerating Elixir, Hungarian Balsam, Chloasma, 
Pabulum Vitte, Medical Hydrokonia, &c., &c. 

A savory list of quack compounds surely, with illustrative 
wood-cuts of women covered with hair by the use of " Ambo- • 



378 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE "WAR, 

line," etc., and regenerated skeletons " after taking " the nos- 
trum, and all attested by the sacred testimony of clergymen, 
and other grateful, bedridden saints, who invariably send for 
the second bottle. But all the medical specialities of " the 
family newspaper " are put to blush by " the grand specific." 
We give its wonderful discoverer the benefit of a free adver- 
tisement : , 

It cures : 

A. ABSCESSES on the surface, or deep seated. 

B. BOILS, caused by over-lieated fluids. 
C CANCER, however malignant, or old. 

C CANKER, of all kinds, in young or aged. 

C. CARBUNCLES, wherever situated. 
». DYSPEPSIA, recent or long standing. 
E. ERYSIPELAS, however violent. 

E. EVIL (KING'S), an inherited curse. 

E. EVERY KIND of humor from bad blood. 

F. FEVER SORES of the worst kind. 

F. FEMALE WEAKNESSES it soon relieves. 

F. FATHERS who are scrofidous give it to children. 

O. GENERAL DEBILITY, from any cause. 

0. GLANDULAR SWELLINGS of the neck, &c. 
H. HERPETIC ERUPTIONS, &c. 

1. IRREGULARITIES peculiar to Females. 
J. JAUNDICE in all its complications. 

K. KING'S EVIL, in young or old. 

E. LOW SPIRITS, arising from Debility, 

M, MOTH, Freckles, Blotches. 

N. NURSING SORE MOUTH. 

O. OLD SORES, external or internal. 

P. PILES, Fistula, &c. 

P. PEVIPLES, on face or arms, 

R, RICKETS, a common Children's disease. 

K. RHEUM (SALT), in all cases. 

S. SCROFULA, in its worst stages. 

S. SCURVY of all kinds. 

S. SCALD HEAD in chUdren. 

T. TUMORS, without operations. 

U. ULCERS, from whatever cause. 

V. VARIOUS SKIN AFFECTIONS. 

"W. WHITE SWELLINGS, &c., &c., &c. 

Our medical friend exhausts the alphabet, if he does not the 
list of " ills that flesh is heir to." 

We shall finish the entertainments of the Saturday Evening 
Gazette with the following, for the benefit of those who are 



APPENDIX. 379 

distressed, or " crossed in love," or whose " insides " are at all 
disarranged : 

MRS. FRANCIS, THE IIVDEPEIVDENT, WAKEFUIL 

CLAIRVOITAPVT. — Is successful in describing past, present, and forth- 
coming events, all kinds of business, diseases and their remedies. Consulta^ 
tion, one dollar ; questions answered for half price. Her Rose Ointment, for 
the cure of every kind of Humors, Scrofula, and Cancers, Sores and Bunches, 
Pimpled Faces, &c., 25 cents per bos, and also a' certain cure for Rheumatism, 
Dysentery, Diarrhcea, Coughs, Sore Throat, Dropsy, Gravel, Liver and Kidney 
Diseases, Dyspepsia, and aU Diseases arising from Indigestion and Impurity of 
the Blood. Her Magnetism is soothing and strengthening for weak and dis- 
eased Nerves, Neuralgia, &c. 147 Court Street, Room No. 1. Hours from 9 
to 13, A. M., and from 3 to 6, P. M. ; from 7 to 9, Monday, Wednesday, and 
Friday evenings. Don't ring. 



August 10. — I have written nothing in my journal for some 
days. In this time I have been sick, almost unto death, in 
these cruel walls. Tortured, too, from day to day, with every 
rumor and shadow of hope that flits through the prison, about 
the much-talked-of and long-deferred exchange of prisoners. 
From day to day I have carried the heavy burdens of sickness 
and disappointment ; but though, at last, the strength of my 
body ha§ rallied a little, the skill of the physician cannot so 
easily recover the mind. I can imagine a brutal submission 
to imprisonment, a sullen and coarse satisfaction in sleeping 
and di'eamiug away a life ; but there are nervous, active sen- 
sibilities, to which a prison is more terrible than death — men 
who beat their souls against its walls and live in a frenzy of 
mad hopes. Alas for the fatal gift of excessive sensibility ! 
Add to this a disease, which condemns one to the horrors of 
the bedridden in prison and fills the mind with gloom, and 
the circumstances excuse the most abject degrees of distress. 

There was a little event of pleasant surprise in my life to- 
day. A box containing under-clothing, and, what was even 
better, something to eat, sent all the way from the distant 

prairies of Missouri^ marked " from Kate W ." So it was 

from no strange angel, but from the dear Virginia lady who 
had written me before, and who would take no refusal of her 
kind disposition to serve me. I accepted the gift with a feel- 



3S0 THE THIRD TEAK OF THE WAK. 

ing of gratitude in my heart, wliich my pen could but very 
poorly express. 

I have often had occasion to meditate, in this war, upon the 
abundant humanity it has shown in women. The fierceness 
of its strife has too frequently steeled the hearts of men,* and 
demoralized much of our better nature ; selfishness, mean ex- 
pediencies, callousness, a certain carelessness for the misfor- 
tunes of others, since misfortune has become so common, have 
taken much of the place of the charities and courtesies of so- 
ciety. But in these, the worst ruins of war, our women, stead- 
fast and conspicuous in their better nature, have not forgotten, 
even in the sorrows of their own hearth-stones, the claims of 
sympathy ; but everywhere, in the hospital, in the prison, in 
every walk of charity, they have followed the impulses, 
and illustrated the duties of tender and unfailing humanity. 

And then, too, how much superior is woman's instinct in 
taking sides in such a war than the troubled reason of men. 
The women of Maryland and of Kentucky would give an over- 
whelming majority for the Confederacy ; they, even while 
their husbands and brothers difi'er, are secessionists, almost 
without an exception ; and even here, in the cities of the 
!North, there are innumerable women who condole with the 
Confederacy, are in love with its virtues and sufferings, and 
dare expressions of sympathy and admiration in the face of 
prison, exile, and all the inhuman penalties which the Wash- 
ington Government and its minions can proclaim. 

There are some questions which require a certain complica- 
tion of reason ; others the key to which is found in a single 
direct and plain thought. Of these latter, women are the bet- 
ter judges. I have seen in a single paragraph in a woman's 
letter in a New York paper, the questions of this war more 
effectually disposed of than in all the sesquipedals of the edi- 
torial columns, and all the four years' arguments of the Yan- 
kee newsj^apers. " Men," says this female critic (she is talk- 
ing of the male Yankee), " who would rather run than fight, 
any day, and who, if they are drafted, will hasten in abject 
terror to the first emigrant ship which arrives, to secure a sub- 
stitute, talk loudly about the glory of fighting and dying for 
one's flag and one's country. What is one's flag and one's 
country ? It is not a strip of rag, or a little dirt, a few stones, 



APPENDIX. 381 

- and some water ; these can be found anywhere, and demand 
no especial consideration. If our country and our flag are 
dear, it is because they represent to us a larger proportion of 
the blessings that make life desirable than can be found else- 
where. If these are forcibly taken away from us, if jDeace is 
gone, if liberty is gone, if friends are gone, — if home and 
plenty are gone, what is the country and the flag worth to me ? 
All c<mntries belong alike to God, and if a happy and peace- 
ful life could be better secured on any other portion of this 
earth, that would become my country." 

Thank God, we Confederates have a country to which we 
may claim a virtuous attachment, in which are wrapped up 
our individual welfare and our individual aspirations ; in 
which we have pride and honor for the courage of its men, 
and for the benevolent missions of its laws to every home and 
fireside. Such a country a woman or child can love quite as 
intelligently as the man ; for it is the expression of what 
makes life desirable, adorns it with unfailing objects of pride, 
and associates each member of the community, not notoriously 
unworthy, with the honors of familiar history. 



382 THE THIKD YEAB OF THE WAK. 



CHAPTEK XI. 

Odt of Prison. — My Parole. — In Yankee Atmosphere. — A Letter from Boston. — 
Waiting. 

August 12. — A memorable day. For, on tliis day, after un- 
speakable and almost mortal sufferings, I was released from 
prison, on a parole, to remain with a relative within the limits 
of Brooklyn, until my special exchange, which I then supposed 
to be in negotiation, was completed. A concession obtained 
for me by friends, to whom my life-long, loving gratitude, is 
ever due. 

In the morning. Risk, the laconic orderly, came to my case- 
mate with the short and severe message, " I was wanted at the 
Adjutant's office." I went there and was told that I would be 
released on signing a " parole." The news upset my nerves, 
and brought my heart into my throat ; but, alas ! though lib- 
erated from the fort, I was yet to be confined in Yankee at- 
mosphere. But I certainly was not disposed to quarrel with 
the partial favors of fortune, and so I signed the following doc- 
ument with a very lively satisfaction, and could hardly refrain 
from shouting for joy as I returned to the casemate to gather 
up my blanket and what few " duds " constituted my property 
in prison ; 

Parole of Honor. 

" I, Edward A. Pollard, of the County of Henrico, of the 
State of Virginia, do hereby pledge my sacred word of honor, 
that, in consideration of being temporarily released from im- 
prisonment in Fort Warren, I will proceed, within twenty-four 
hours after being so released, to Brooklyn, N. Y., and that, 
during the continuance of this Parole, I will not go outside the 
limits of said city, without the consent of the Secretary of the 
Navy, in writing, nor commit any hostile act against the 



APPENDIX. 383 

Government of the United States, nor afford aid or comfort to 
the enemies thereof in any manner whatever, nor communicate 
to any one in the rebellious States, or proceeding thither, or to 
any one in Europe, or other foreign country, any information 
that mayor can be used to the injury of the United States, 
and that I will report in writing to the Secretary of the Navy 
every two weeks, and hold myself prepared to return to Fort 
"Warren whenever he shall so direct ; it behig understood that 
this parole is to cease at the pleasure of the Secretary of the 
Navy, or in the event of my recommitment to prison, or my 
exchange, or the termination of the war. 

"Signed, in duplicate, at Fort "Warren, this 12th day of 
August, 1864, 

"EDWARD A. POLLARD. 

"Witness — 

"Edw. R. Paeey, 1st Lieut., 11th Infantry, U. S. A., 
" Commissary of Prisoners." 

"What a parting I have had with my poor fellow-prisoners — 
messages and entreaties for Kichmond, good wishes, affec- 
tionate counsels, almost tears ! Captain Green gave me a ring 
of his own manufacture, and my good friend Marrs wanted to 
press upon me a gold chain, a remnant of property which the 
Yankees had, strangely enough, left the poor fellow. As I 
passed through the sally-port, I turned to wave my handker- 
chief to the weary, watching faces ; but the sergeant orders me 
to " move on." I have left behind some friendships in those 
granite walls ; and, if there, too, I have left a pleasant record 
of my companionship in the hearts of my unfortunate country- 
men, God knows that I am prouder of it than of any other 
memory of my life. 



August 15. — I was required to report in twenty-four hours 
in Brooklyn, but found time to see some friends in Boston. I 
saw ray benefactress there, the noble Catholic lady, who had 
devoted herself to the comfort and consolation of the unhappy 
men in Fort "Warren, and whose name should be inscribed in 
every record of honor in the Confederacy. 



384 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

I am yet strange and giddy in the comparative liberty of a 
parole after the liorror and tortnre of a Yankee prison. In the 
streets of Boston there was sounding in my ears the usual surly 
" halt " of some brass-harnessed Yankee at almost every step ; 
and in the cars, whirled for twelve hours by the white houses 
and apple orchards of New England, and through the peaceful 
scenes of the country, I was imagining the reveille, the harsh 
call to the cook-house, the orderly's round, and all the other 
routine of a day in prison. 

I am living in a very remote suburb of Brooklyn ; and here, 
incog., and intent to avoid all contact with the Yankee, I must 
possess my soul in patience, until, in God's good time and 
merciful providence, I shall again breathe the air of home and 
of liberty. 



August 17. — A letter from my dear friend in Boston : 

Boston, 1864. 
I did not half tell you, my dear Mr. Pollard, how glad and grate- 
ful I am for your release. I did not realize it until after you 
had gone. The pleasure of seeing you, face to face, of making 
you a veritable fact, after believing you somewhat a myth, of 
talking with you upon the one subject of deep interest to us 
both, was too much at the time to take in that other joy of 
your freedom. I suppose if I were a boy, I should have 
thrown up my cap, and made a noise like that " the shrouds 
make at sea, in a stiff tempest, as loud and to as many tones." 
As it was, I followed the impulse of a womanly nature, and, 
kneeling down, I thanked Him who had heard our prayer, and 
loosed your chains, and opened wide your guarded prison 
doors. 

. . . . "We are getting up some things for the prisoners. 
What shall I put in for Mr. Pollard, was my first thought- 
forgetting, for the moment, that you had taken wings. I wish 
I had asked you more particularly what is best to send. I 
shall really be grateful for any suggestions. After all, how 
little one can do for so many. What are the five loaves and 
two small fishes among such a multitude. It is only that the 



APPENDIX. 385 

doing one's best is acceptable from the sympathy it expresses. 
You, dear friend, entirely over-estimated the very little I found 
it a privilege to do for you. If I could atone by a life of ser- 
vice for the least of the wrongs my people (alas ! that I 
should say imj peoj^le) have inflicted upon as noble a race as 
God ever created, I should only be too happy. You must 
never think of any little thing I have done in any other 
way. If I have given you one moment's cheer or comfort, it 
has been more to me than to you that I have been able 
to do so. 

I shall hope to hear from you as soon as you have had your 
fill of sleeping between fresh, clean sheets. I think I would 
take it out after the fashion of Rip Yan Winkle. And the 
pleasure, too, of sitting at a table with one's own friends, 
and eating in a Christian way ! It must almost rej^ay you 
for the hardship and the keen discomfort of your prison 
life. ISTo more rations, no more abominable pork ! Deo 
gratias I 

I have just received a call from a gentleman friend .... 
He is, indeed, a very true and faithful man ; and the time will 
yet come when his voice will be heard above the wild waves 
of passionate strife, and his calm power will be felt. I intend 
writing him this week, and it will give me- great pleasure to 
tell him what you said of him. 



. . . . Septemher 10. — The fall has set in, and yet no 
news of my exchange. I have written to Richmond of my 
failing health ; but I fear it may be some time yet before I 
again see my brown South, and stand upon the "sacred soil" 
of Yirginia. 

Living here, almost in the seclusion of four walls — at least, 
choosing such severe isolation as I think becomes, both the 
misfortune and resentment of a prisoner — consumed by sick- 
ness and anxiety, I have nothing left to sustain me but the 
promises of hope. And if I cannot hope successfully, I can 
at least hope bravely. 

25 



3S6 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 

Anything rather than mere nostalgia, or that certain fatal 
cliarm of melancholy, which loses its misfortunes in idle sen- 
timentalism. 

He who learns to wait is more than all other men the master 
of his fate. 



Chronology of the Third Year of the ¥ar. 



1863. 

May 1.— Battle of Port Gibson, Miss. X^en. Grant, U. S. A., de- 
feats the C. S. Gens. Green and Tracy. 

" 14. — Jackson, Miss., is evacuated, and occupied by Grant. 

" 16.— Gen. Grant defeats Gen. Pemberton at Baker's Creek. 
Gen. Tilghman killed. 

" 1 1.— Gen. Pemberton routed on the Big Black by Gen. Grant, 
and retreats to Vicksburg. 

" 22.— Attack and repulse of the U. S. forces under Gen. Grant 
on the works at Vicksburg. Attack and repulse of 
the U. S. forces under Gen. Banks at Port Hudson. 

" 23.— Investment of Vicksburg by Gen. Grant. 
June 3.— Beginning of Gen. Lee's onward movement in Virginia. 

" 9.— Gen. Stuart defeats the Federal cavalry at Brandy 
Station. 

" J 4.— Battle of Winchester and defeat of the Federals by 
Gen. Ewell. Capture of Martinsburg by Gen. Rodes. 
Second attack on the works at Port Hudson. 

" 14-1 1.— Gen. Hooker withdraws from the Rappahannock, and 
occupies Centreville and Manassas. 

« 17.— Two brigades of Federal cavalry defeated by Stuart at 
Aldie. 

" 18.— Engagement at Aldie renewed. Stuart forced to re- 
tire. 

" 23.— Capture of Brashear City, La., by Gen. Taylor. 

" 24-30.— Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania by the Confed- 
erate forces under Gen. Lee. 

" 28.— Repulse of Gen. Green at Donaldsonville, La. 

" 29.— The Federal army, under Gen. Meade, crosses the Po- 
tomac. 



3SS CHRONOLOGY OF THE THIED TEAR OF THE WAR. 

July 1-4. — Battle of Gettysburg, Tlie Confederates under Gen. 
Lee defeated by Gen. Meade, and forced to retire 
from Pennsylvania. C. S. loss 10,000. Gens. Pen- 
der, Armistead, Barksdale, Garnett, and Semmes kill- 
ed. U. S. loss between 15,000 and 18,000. Gen. 
Reynolds killed on the 1st, 

" 2. — Gen. Morgan crosses the Cumberland. 

" 4. — Unconditional surrender of Vicksburg, by Lieut.-gen. 
Pemberton, to Major-gen, Grant, Gen. Lee begins 
his retreat. The Confederates under Gen. Price de- 
feated at Helena, Ark., with a loss in killed and 
wounded of 500 to 600. 

" 5. — Capture of Lebanon, Ky., by Gen. Morgan. 

" 6. — Gen. Imboden defeats the Federal cavalry at Williams- 
port, Md. 

" 8-18. — Gen. Morgan makes a raid through Indiana and Ohio. 
Is captured, with 200 men, near New Lisbon. 

" 9. — Surrender of Port Hudson. Landing of Gen. Strong 
on Morris Island, S. C. 

" 9-16. — Bombardment of Jackson, Miss., by Gen, Sherman. 

" 10. — The Federal troops attack Fort Wagner and are re- 
pulsed, 

" 12, — 4,000 U. S, troops defeated by 1,200 Confederates under 
Gen. Green, near Donaldsonville, La. 

" 13, — Capture of Yazoo City by the Federals, 

" 16, — Evacuation of Jackson by Gen. J, E, Johnston. Gen. 
Sherman occupies and destroys the town. Gen. Lee 
recrosses the Potomac. 

" 31. — Gen. Burnside declares martial law in Kentucky. 
Aug. 18. — Commencement of the bombardment of Charleston. 
The Federals attack Fort Wagner and are defeated, 
with a loss of 1,550. Confederate loss about 100. 

" 21-24. — Bombardment of Sumter by the combined U. S. kncl 
and naval forces iinder Gen. Gillmore and Admiral 
Dahlgren. 

" 26. — Gen. Averill is defeated near Dublin, Va., by Col. Pat- 
ton. 
Sept. 6. — Evacuation of Fort Wagner. The Federals occupy 
Morris Island. 

" 8. — The U. S. troops make a night attack on Fort Sumter 
and are repulsed. Defeat of the Federals at Sabine 
Pass, La. 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 389 

Sept. 9. — Gen. Frazier surrenders Cumberland Gap to Gen. Burn- 
side. 

" 19-20.— Battle of Chickaraauga, Gen. Roseci-ans is defeated 
by Gen. Bragg, with the loss of 8,000 prisoners, 51 
cannon, and 15,000 stand of small arms, and falls back 
on Chattanooga. 
Oct. 11. — Cavalry engagement near Brandy Station. 

" 14. — Gen. Hill repulsed at Bristoe Station. 

" 18. — Gen. Imboden captures Charlestown, Va., and 434 pris- 
oners. Gen. Grant assumes command of the Military 
Division of the Mississippi, and proceeds to relieve 
Chattanooga. 

" 29. — Engagement in Lookout Valley. Confederate forces 
defeated. 
iVbu. 6. — Skirmish at Rogersville, East Tennessee. General 
Echols defeats Col. Jackson at Droop Mountain, 
Virginia. 

" v. — The Confederates defeated at Kelly's Ford, on the Rap- 
pahannock. 

" 8. — Battle of Missionary Ridge ; Bragg defeated by Grant, 
and forced to abandon his intrenchments, with the 
loss of 40 cannon and 6,000 prisoners. U. S. loss in 
killed and wounded 5,000. 

" 27. — The Federals defeated at Germania Ford, on the Rap- 
idan. 

" 29. — Gen. Longstreet makes an assault on Knoxville and 
is repulsed. C. S. loss in killed, wounded, and 
"- prisoners, 700. U. S. loss in killed and wounded, 20. 

Dec. %-22. — Gen. Averill makes a raid into the heart of Virginia. 



1864. 



Jan. 30. — Raid of cavalry under Gen. Rosser. 
Feb. 1 . — Commander Wood, C, S. N., captures the IJ. S. gunboat 
Underwriter, near Newbern, N. C. 
" 1-25. — Gen. Sherman's expedition into Mississippi. Failure, and 

return to Vicksburg. 
" 9-11. — Skirmishing on John's Island, S. C. The Federals 
retire. 



390 CHKONOLOGY OF THE THIRD TKAR OF THE WAR. 

Feb. 20.— Gen. Seymour is defeated by Gen. Finnigan at Ocean 
Pond, Florida. C. S. loss 80 killed, 650 wounded. 
U. S. loss 500 prisoners, and probably 2,000 killed and 
wounded. 

" 21. — Cavalry engagement at Okalona. Gens, Smith and 
Grierson defeated by Gen. Forrest and fall back to 
Memphis. 
" 25.— Gen. Thomas attempts an advance but falls back on 

Chickamanga. 
** 28. — Attempted raid around Richmond under Gen. Kilpat- 
rick and Col. Dahlgren. Dahlgren killed and his 
force captured. 
Jfarc/i 14.— Fort De Russy, on the Red river, taken by Gen. A. J. 
Smith, 

" 16. — Occupation of Alexandria, La,, by Federals. 
April 7.— Skirmisli at Pleasant Hill, La. 

" 8.— Battle of Mansfield, La. Gen. Banks defeated by Gen. 
Kirby Smith, and driven to Pleasant Hill. Gen. 
Mouton killed. 

« 9.— Battle of Pleasant Hill. Gen. Banks tails back to Grand 
Ecore, thus ending the disastrous Red river expedi- 
tion. U. S. loss, altogether, 8,000 killed and wound- 
ed, 1,000 prisoners, 35 guns, 1,200 wagons, 1 gun- 
boat, and 3 transports. 

" 12.— Storming of Fort Pillow by Gen. Forrest, 

" 11. — Gen. Hoke's expedition against Plymouth, N. C. 



25, 



-Gen, Forrest attacks Paducah, Ky. 



" 28.— Gen, Hoke takes Plymouth, N. C. 
May 5-6.— Battle of the Wilderness. 

" 5. — Gen. Butler moves up the James river. 

" 7. — Desultory fighting on the Fredericksburg road. 

" 8. — Gen. Warren is repulsed in two engagments near Spott- 
sylvania. 

« 9.— Gen. Sedgwick killed, 

" 10. — Cavalry engagement near Yellow Tavern, Ya. Gen. J. 
E. B. Stuart killed. 

" 12.— Battle of Spottsylvania C. H. 

" 15. — Gen. Sigel defeated near Newmarket by Gen. Breckin- 
ridge. 

" 16. — Gen. Beauregard attacks Gen, Butler's advanced position 
at Drury's Bluff. Gen. Butler retires to Bermuda 
Hundred 



CHRONOLOGY OF THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 891 

May 28. — Gen. Grant crosses the Pamunkey. 
June 3. — Attack on the Confederate works at Cold Harbor. Fed- 
erals repulsed. 

« 5. — Gen. Hunter has a success at Piedmont, and effects 
the capture of Staunton. Death of Gen. W. E. 
Jones. 

« 7. — Flank movement on Resaca, Ga., by which Gen. J. E. 
Johnston is forced to evacuate Dalton. 

« 9^ — Expedition from Gen. Butler's Unes against Petersburg. 

Federals repulsed. 
' " 12. — Grant crosses the James river. 

" 14. — Battle of Resaca. 

" 16, 17, 18.— Grant's forces attempt to take Petersburg by 
assault and are repulsed. 

" 22. — Grant attempts the Weldon railroad. 

" 27. — BattleofKenesaw Mountain. Gen. Sherman repulsed. 

" 28. — Gen. McPherson repulsed at New Hope, Ga. Unsuc- 
cessful attempt on the Weldon railroad by U. S. cav- 
alry under Gens. Wilson and Kautz. 
July 3. — Gen. Johnston retreats to Atlanta, Ga. 

44 20. — Battle near Atlanta between Gen. Sherman and Gen. 
Hood. 

" 22. — Battle near Atlanta. 

" 28. — Engagement near Atlanta. 



